Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female (% of children under 5) by country
Prevalence of underweight, female, is the percentage of girls under age 5 whose weight for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59 months. The data are based on the WHO's 2006 Child Growth Standards.
What the numbers show
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female (% of children under 5) is currently reported for 83 countries. The highest value is 39.6% in Yemen; the lowest is 0.2% in Korea.
The median across all reporting countries is 10.2%, and the mean is 11.1%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 198.
Over the past decade 13 countries rose and 68 fell. The largest increase was in Mexico (up 107.1%), and the largest decrease in China (down 66.2%).
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yemen | 39.6% | 2022 | up 17.5% | flat |
| 2 | Niger | 32.3% | 2022 | up 7.0% | falling |
| 3 | India | 30.6% | 2020 | down 30.5% | falling |
| 4 | Timor-Leste | 30.2% | 2020 | down 30.6% | falling |
| 5 | Burundi | 25.6% | 2024 | down 0.8% | falling |
| 6 | Nigeria | 23.7% | 2021 | down 1.2% | falling |
| 7 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 23.4% | 2023 | down 11.4% | falling |
| 8 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 22.9% | 2023 | up 9.0% | falling |
| 9 | Pakistan | 22.1% | 2018 | down 28.2% | falling |
| 10 | Bangladesh | 21.8% | 2022 | down 35.9% | falling |
| 11 | Madagascar | 20.8% | 2021 | down 26.2% | falling |
| 12 | Nepal | 20.4% | 2022 | down 27.7% | falling |
| 12 | Sri Lanka | 20.4% | 2016 | down 5.1% | falling |
| 14 | Mauritania | 19.8% | 2022 | up 11.2% | falling |
| 15 | Ethiopia | 19.4% | 2019 | down 29.2% | falling |
| 16 | Myanmar | 19.2% | 2018 | down 13.1% | falling |
| 17 | Philippines | 17.9% | 2021 | down 12.3% | falling |
| 18 | Benin | 17.5% | 2021 | up 8.7% | falling |
| 19 | Guinea-Bissau | 17.4% | 2019 | up 3.6% | falling |
| 20 | Djibouti | 17.1% | 2023 | down 39.1% | falling |
| 21 | Chad | 16.7% | 2022 | down 41.0% | falling |
| 22 | Central African Republic | 16.6% | 2022 | down 27.5% | falling |
| 23 | Maldives | 15.4% | 2017 | down 8.9% | falling |
| 24 | Senegal | 15.3% | 2023 | up 11.7% | falling |
| 25 | Indonesia | 15.2% | 2023 | down 21.6% | falling |
| 26 | Burkina Faso | 14.8% | 2021 | down 34.2% | falling |
| 26 | Malaysia | 14.8% | 2022 | up 27.6% | rising |
| 28 | Cambodia | 14.6% | 2021 | down 49.8% | falling |
| 29 | Togo | 14.3% | 2017 | down 30.2% | falling |
| 30 | Mozambique | 13.5% | 2022 | down 0.7% | falling |
| 31 | Côte d'Ivoire | 13.4% | 2021 | down 2.2% | falling |
| 31 | Guinea | 13.4% | 2022 | down 28.7% | falling |
| 33 | Mali | 13.3% | 2024 | down 43.2% | falling |
| 34 | Guatemala | 12.8% | 2021 | down 3.8% | falling |
| 35 | Lesotho | 11.5% | 2024 | up 35.3% | falling |
| 36 | Oman | 11.4% | 2017 | up 37.3% | rising |
| 36 | Malawi | 11.4% | 2020 | down 10.2% | falling |
| 36 | Sierra Leone | 11.4% | 2021 | down 30.5% | falling |
| 36 | Viet Nam | 11.4% | 2010 | down 57.3% | falling |
| 40 | Gambia | 10.4% | 2020 | down 38.8% | falling |
| 40 | Liberia | 10.4% | 2019 | down 31.6% | falling |
| 42 | Zambia | 10.2% | 2018 | down 21.5% | falling |
| 43 | Ghana | 10.1% | 2022 | down 10.6% | falling |
| 44 | Cameroon | 9.9% | 2018 | down 30.3% | falling |
| 45 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 9.8% | 2022 | down 24.6% | falling |
| 46 | Haiti | 9.4% | 2023 | down 19.0% | falling |
| 47 | Zimbabwe | 9.0% | 2019 | down 13.5% | flat |
| 48 | Kenya | 8.9% | 2022 | down 7.3% | falling |
| 49 | Guyana | 8.3% | 2019 | down 8.8% | falling |
| 50 | Uganda | 8.2% | 2022 | down 25.5% | falling |
| 51 | Rwanda | 6.3% | 2020 | down 39.4% | falling |
| 51 | Honduras | 6.3% | 2019 | down 25.0% | falling |
| 53 | Thailand | 6.0% | 2022 | down 29.4% | falling |
| 54 | Mexico | 5.8% | 2022 | up 107.1% | falling |
| 55 | Tajikistan | 4.7% | 2023 | down 63.8% | falling |
| 55 | El Salvador | 4.7% | 2021 | down 30.9% | falling |
| 57 | Ecuador | 4.4% | 2024 | unchanged | falling |
| 58 | Nicaragua | 4.3% | 2012 | down 38.6% | falling |
| 58 | Eswatini | 4.3% | 2021 | down 14.0% | falling |
| 60 | Egypt | 3.9% | 2021 | down 27.8% | falling |
| 61 | Colombia | 3.5% | 2016 | down 23.9% | falling |
| 62 | Kyrgyzstan | 3.2% | 2023 | down 17.9% | falling |
| 63 | Jordan | 2.9% | 2023 | up 11.5% | falling |
| 63 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 2.9% | 2016 | down 27.5% | falling |
| 63 | Saudi Arabia | 2.9% | 2020 | down 43.1% | falling |
| 66 | Dominican Republic | 2.6% | 2019 | down 27.8% | falling |
| 67 | Algeria | 2.4% | 2019 | down 29.4% | volatile |
| 67 | Peru | 2.4% | 2023 | down 20.0% | falling |
| 69 | Azerbaijan | 2.2% | 2023 | down 55.1% | volatile |
| 69 | China | 2.2% | 2013 | down 66.2% | volatile |
| 71 | Armenia | 2.0% | 2016 | down 61.5% | rising |
| 71 | Kazakhstan | 2.0% | 2015 | down 53.5% | falling |
| 73 | Türkiye | 1.7% | 2018 | down 15.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Uzbekistan | 1.7% | 2021 | down 60.5% | volatile |
| 73 | Kuwait | 1.7% | 2023 | down 52.8% | rising |
| 73 | Mongolia | 1.7% | 2018 | down 43.3% | volatile |
| 77 | Palestine, State of | 1.6% | 2020 | down 54.3% | falling |
| 78 | Morocco | 1.5% | 2019 | down 53.1% | volatile |
| 79 | Uruguay | 1.3% | 2018 | down 55.2% | falling |
| 80 | Jamaica | 1.0% | 2018 | up 11.1% | volatile |
| 81 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 0.5% | 2019 | unchanged | falling |
| 82 | United States of America | 0.3% | 2018 | down 25.0% | falling |
| 83 | Korea | 0.2% | 2020 | down 50.0% | falling |
About this data
Prevalence of underweight, female, is the percentage of girls under age 5 whose weight for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59 months. The data are based on the WHO's 2006 Child Growth Standards.