Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female in Tanzania
Tanzania: Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female was 9.8% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female in Tanzania, 1991–2022
Source: UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'. Measured in % of children under 5.
Analysis
The most recent figure for prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female in Tanzania is 9.8%, measured in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.0% on the previous year and down 24.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female in Tanzania peaked at 26.9% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 9.8%, in 2022.
That places Tanzania 45th out of 83 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female in Tanzania, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 23.1% | — |
| 1996 | 25.2% | +9.1% |
| 1999 | 26.9% | +6.7% |
| 2004 | 15.4% | -42.8% |
| 2009 | 15.7% | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 14.5% | -7.6% |
| 2011 | 13.0% | -10.3% |
| 2013 | 13.1% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 14.3% | +9.2% |
| 2015 | 13.2% | -7.7% |
| 2018 | 13.5% | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 9.9% | -26.7% |
| 2022 | 9.8% | -1.0% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 9.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 10.8%, 90% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 9.8% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 13.4%, 73% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25.1% | 23.1% | 26.9% | 3 |
| 2000s | 15.6% | 15.4% | 15.7% | 2 |
| 2010s | 13.6% | 13.0% | 14.5% | 6 |
| 2020s | 9.9% | 9.8% | 9.9% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More health data for Tanzania
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7342 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 658.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 32,514 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 13 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.86 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0786 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.89 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female in Tanzania?
- Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female in Tanzania was 9.8% in 2022, according to UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'.
- What is the highest prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female recorded in Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 26.9% in 1999.
- What is the lowest prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.8% in 2022.
- How does Tanzania rank for prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female?
- Tanzania ranks 45th out of 83 countries with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tanzania data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children', published as part of Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female (% of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.