Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, male (% of children under 5) by country
Prevalence of underweight, male, is the percentage of boys 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, male (% of children under 5) is currently reported for 83 countries. The highest value is 41.7% in Yemen; the lowest is 0.5% in Korea.
The median across all reporting countries is 12.2%, and the mean is 12.7%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 83.
Over the past decade 17 countries rose and 66 fell. The largest increase was in Morocco (up 51.9%), and the largest decrease in China (down 65.3%).
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, male: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yemen | 41.7% | 2022 | up 12.4% | flat |
| 2 | Niger | 36.9% | 2022 | up 9.2% | falling |
| 3 | Timor-Leste | 33.4% | 2020 | down 27.9% | falling |
| 4 | India | 32.3% | 2020 | down 25.1% | falling |
| 5 | Burundi | 31.2% | 2024 | up 4.0% | falling |
| 6 | Nigeria | 27.2% | 2021 | up 11.5% | falling |
| 7 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 27.0% | 2023 | up 5.1% | falling |
| 8 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 25.1% | 2023 | down 6.3% | falling |
| 9 | Mauritania | 25.0% | 2022 | up 9.6% | falling |
| 10 | Madagascar | 24.4% | 2021 | down 15.0% | falling |
| 11 | Pakistan | 24.0% | 2018 | down 24.8% | falling |
| 12 | Ethiopia | 23.0% | 2019 | down 25.6% | falling |
| 13 | Benin | 21.7% | 2021 | up 21.2% | falling |
| 14 | Bangladesh | 21.5% | 2022 | down 32.8% | falling |
| 15 | Sri Lanka | 20.6% | 2016 | down 8.8% | falling |
| 16 | Central African Republic | 20.2% | 2022 | down 22.6% | falling |
| 16 | Guinea-Bissau | 20.2% | 2019 | up 26.2% | flat |
| 18 | Chad | 19.7% | 2022 | down 39.4% | falling |
| 19 | Burkina Faso | 19.0% | 2021 | down 31.2% | falling |
| 20 | Myanmar | 18.3% | 2018 | down 20.4% | falling |
| 20 | Djibouti | 18.3% | 2023 | down 24.4% | falling |
| 22 | Cambodia | 18.0% | 2021 | down 37.3% | falling |
| 23 | Mozambique | 17.3% | 2022 | down 1.7% | falling |
| 24 | Senegal | 17.1% | 2023 | up 8.9% | falling |
| 25 | Indonesia | 16.7% | 2023 | down 18.5% | falling |
| 25 | Mali | 16.7% | 2024 | down 32.7% | falling |
| 27 | Guinea | 16.6% | 2022 | down 11.2% | falling |
| 28 | Nepal | 16.4% | 2022 | down 44.6% | falling |
| 29 | Togo | 16.1% | 2017 | down 21.5% | falling |
| 30 | Guatemala | 16.0% | 2021 | up 7.4% | falling |
| 31 | Malaysia | 15.9% | 2022 | up 19.5% | rising |
| 32 | Philippines | 15.6% | 2021 | down 22.0% | falling |
| 33 | Malawi | 14.3% | 2020 | down 4.7% | falling |
| 34 | Maldives | 14.2% | 2017 | down 23.2% | falling |
| 35 | Ghana | 13.8% | 2022 | down 10.4% | falling |
| 35 | Côte d'Ivoire | 13.8% | 2021 | down 19.8% | falling |
| 37 | Lesotho | 13.5% | 2024 | up 5.5% | falling |
| 37 | Zambia | 13.5% | 2018 | down 20.1% | falling |
| 39 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 12.9% | 2022 | down 14.6% | falling |
| 40 | Gambia | 12.8% | 2020 | down 28.5% | falling |
| 41 | Sierra Leone | 12.6% | 2021 | down 38.8% | falling |
| 42 | Cameroon | 12.2% | 2018 | down 35.1% | falling |
| 43 | Viet Nam | 12.1% | 2010 | down 54.5% | falling |
| 44 | Haiti | 12.0% | 2023 | down 15.5% | falling |
| 45 | Liberia | 11.4% | 2019 | down 41.8% | falling |
| 46 | Uganda | 11.2% | 2022 | down 13.2% | falling |
| 47 | Oman | 11.1% | 2017 | up 24.7% | falling |
| 48 | Kenya | 10.7% | 2022 | down 26.7% | falling |
| 49 | Guyana | 10.4% | 2019 | down 20.0% | falling |
| 50 | Zimbabwe | 10.3% | 2019 | down 20.8% | flat |
| 51 | Rwanda | 9.0% | 2020 | down 30.8% | falling |
| 52 | Honduras | 7.9% | 2019 | down 11.2% | falling |
| 53 | Thailand | 7.3% | 2022 | down 26.3% | falling |
| 54 | Eswatini | 5.7% | 2021 | down 16.2% | falling |
| 55 | Tajikistan | 5.6% | 2023 | down 58.5% | falling |
| 56 | Ecuador | 5.5% | 2024 | down 3.5% | falling |
| 57 | El Salvador | 5.2% | 2021 | down 21.2% | falling |
| 58 | Nicaragua | 5.0% | 2012 | down 40.5% | falling |
| 59 | Jamaica | 4.1% | 2018 | up 7.9% | falling |
| 59 | Morocco | 4.1% | 2019 | up 51.9% | falling |
| 61 | Saudi Arabia | 4.0% | 2020 | down 36.5% | falling |
| 62 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 3.9% | 2016 | down 20.4% | falling |
| 62 | Colombia | 3.9% | 2016 | down 27.8% | falling |
| 64 | Kuwait | 3.8% | 2023 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 64 | Azerbaijan | 3.8% | 2023 | down 22.4% | falling |
| 66 | Egypt | 3.6% | 2021 | down 55.6% | falling |
| 67 | Dominican Republic | 3.3% | 2019 | up 6.5% | falling |
| 68 | Armenia | 3.2% | 2016 | down 5.9% | rising |
| 69 | Peru | 2.9% | 2023 | down 32.6% | falling |
| 69 | Algeria | 2.9% | 2019 | down 17.1% | volatile |
| 71 | Kyrgyzstan | 2.7% | 2023 | down 27.0% | volatile |
| 71 | Mexico | 2.7% | 2022 | down 6.9% | falling |
| 73 | Palestine, State of | 2.6% | 2020 | down 35.0% | flat |
| 74 | China | 2.5% | 2013 | down 65.3% | falling |
| 75 | Uruguay | 2.3% | 2018 | down 53.1% | falling |
| 76 | Jordan | 2.1% | 2023 | down 38.2% | falling |
| 77 | Mongolia | 2.0% | 2018 | down 44.4% | volatile |
| 78 | Kazakhstan | 1.9% | 2015 | down 64.8% | falling |
| 78 | Uzbekistan | 1.9% | 2021 | down 58.7% | volatile |
| 80 | Türkiye | 1.3% | 2018 | down 23.5% | volatile |
| 81 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 0.8% | 2019 | down 11.1% | flat |
| 82 | United States of America | 0.5% | 2018 | down 44.4% | falling |
| 82 | Korea | 0.5% | 2020 | down 61.5% | falling |
About this data
Prevalence of underweight, male, is the percentage of boys 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.