Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5) by country
Prevalence of underweight children is the percentage of children 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.
Countries reporting
96
Highest
40.7%
Yemen
Lowest
0.4%
United States of America
Median
9.8%
Years covered
41
1984–2024
Data points
1,307
What the numbers show
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5) is currently reported for 96 countries. The highest value is 40.7% in Yemen; the lowest is 0.4% in United States of America.
The median across all reporting countries is 9.8%, and the mean is 11.1%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 102.
Over the past decade 19 countries rose and 76 fell. The largest increase was in Costa Rica (up 222.2%), and the largest decrease in China (down 64.7%).
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yemen | 40.7% | 2022 | up 14.6% | flat |
| 2 | Niger | 34.6% | 2022 | up 7.8% | falling |
| 3 | Timor-Leste | 31.9% | 2020 | down 29.0% | falling |
| 4 | India | 31.5% | 2020 | down 27.6% | falling |
| 5 | Burundi | 28.3% | 2024 | up 1.4% | falling |
| 6 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 25.0% | 2023 | up 6.8% | falling |
| 7 | Nigeria | 24.4% | 2021 | up 0.8% | falling |
| 8 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 24.3% | 2023 | down 8.6% | falling |
| 9 | Pakistan | 23.1% | 2018 | down 26.4% | falling |
| 10 | Madagascar | 22.6% | 2021 | down 20.4% | falling |
| 11 | Mauritania | 22.4% | 2022 | up 9.8% | falling |
| 12 | Bangladesh | 21.7% | 2022 | down 34.2% | falling |
| 13 | Ethiopia | 21.2% | 2019 | down 27.4% | falling |
| 14 | Benin | 19.6% | 2021 | up 14.6% | falling |
| 15 | Myanmar | 19.5% | 2018 | down 13.7% | falling |
| 16 | Guinea-Bissau | 18.8% | 2019 | up 14.6% | falling |
| 17 | Afghanistan | 18.4% | 2022 | down 25.2% | falling |
| 17 | Central African Republic | 18.4% | 2022 | down 24.9% | falling |
| 19 | Nepal | 18.3% | 2022 | down 36.7% | falling |
| 20 | Chad | 18.2% | 2022 | down 39.9% | falling |
| 21 | Djibouti | 17.7% | 2023 | down 31.9% | falling |
| 22 | Sri Lanka | 17.1% | 2024 | down 34.5% | falling |
| 23 | Burkina Faso | 16.9% | 2021 | down 32.7% | falling |
| 24 | Philippines | 16.7% | 2021 | down 17.3% | falling |
| 25 | Cambodia | 16.3% | 2021 | down 43.6% | falling |
| 26 | Senegal | 16.2% | 2023 | up 9.5% | falling |
| 27 | Indonesia | 15.9% | 2023 | down 20.1% | falling |
| 28 | Mozambique | 15.4% | 2022 | down 1.3% | falling |
| 29 | Malaysia | 15.3% | 2022 | up 22.4% | falling |
| 30 | Togo | 15.2% | 2017 | down 25.9% | falling |
| 31 | Guinea | 15.0% | 2022 | down 20.2% | falling |
| 31 | Mali | 15.0% | 2024 | down 37.8% | falling |
| 33 | Maldives | 14.8% | 2017 | down 16.4% | falling |
| 34 | Guatemala | 14.4% | 2021 | up 2.1% | falling |
| 35 | Côte d'Ivoire | 13.6% | 2021 | down 12.3% | falling |
| 36 | Malawi | 12.8% | 2020 | down 7.9% | falling |
| 37 | Lesotho | 12.5% | 2024 | up 19.0% | falling |
| 38 | Ghana | 12.0% | 2022 | down 10.4% | falling |
| 38 | Sierra Leone | 12.0% | 2021 | down 35.1% | falling |
| 40 | Zambia | 11.8% | 2018 | down 20.8% | falling |
| 41 | Gambia | 11.6% | 2020 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 42 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 11.4% | 2022 | down 19.1% | falling |
| 43 | Oman | 11.2% | 2017 | up 30.2% | falling |
| 44 | Cameroon | 11.0% | 2018 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 45 | Liberia | 10.9% | 2019 | down 33.5% | falling |
| 46 | Haiti | 10.7% | 2023 | down 17.7% | falling |
| 47 | Syrian Arab Republic | 10.4% | 2010 | up 73.3% | falling |
| 48 | Kenya | 9.8% | 2022 | down 21.0% | falling |
| 49 | Uganda | 9.7% | 2022 | down 18.5% | falling |
| 49 | Viet Nam | 9.7% | 2023 | down 36.6% | falling |
| 51 | Zimbabwe | 9.6% | 2024 | down 14.3% | flat |
| 52 | Guyana | 9.4% | 2019 | down 14.5% | falling |
| 53 | Korea, Democratic People's Republic of | 9.3% | 2017 | down 50.5% | volatile |
| 54 | Comoros | 9.1% | 2022 | down 46.2% | falling |
| 55 | Bhutan | 8.7% | 2023 | down 31.5% | volatile |
| 56 | Rwanda | 7.7% | 2020 | down 34.2% | falling |
| 57 | Honduras | 7.1% | 2019 | down 18.4% | falling |
| 58 | Thailand | 6.7% | 2022 | down 27.2% | falling |
| 59 | Tajikistan | 5.2% | 2023 | down 60.9% | falling |
| 60 | El Salvador | 5.0% | 2021 | down 25.4% | falling |
| 60 | Eswatini | 5.0% | 2021 | down 15.3% | falling |
| 62 | Ecuador | 4.9% | 2024 | down 3.9% | falling |
| 62 | South Africa | 4.9% | 2017 | down 46.2% | falling |
| 64 | Nicaragua | 4.6% | 2012 | down 40.3% | falling |
| 65 | Iran, Islamic Republic of | 4.3% | 2017 | down 6.5% | volatile |
| 66 | Mexico | 4.2% | 2022 | up 50.0% | falling |
| 67 | Iraq | 3.9% | 2018 | down 45.1% | falling |
| 68 | Colombia | 3.7% | 2016 | down 26.0% | falling |
| 68 | Egypt | 3.7% | 2021 | down 45.6% | falling |
| 70 | Romania | 3.5% | 2002 | down 30.0% | falling |
| 70 | Saudi Arabia | 3.5% | 2020 | down 38.6% | volatile |
| 72 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 3.4% | 2016 | down 24.4% | falling |
| 73 | Azerbaijan | 3.0% | 2023 | down 38.8% | falling |
| 73 | Dominican Republic | 3.0% | 2019 | down 11.8% | falling |
| 73 | Morocco | 3.0% | 2019 | up 3.4% | falling |
| 76 | Costa Rica | 2.9% | 2018 | up 222.2% | flat |
| 76 | Kyrgyzstan | 2.9% | 2023 | down 23.7% | volatile |
| 76 | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 2.9% | 2009 | down 29.3% | falling |
| 79 | Kuwait | 2.8% | 2023 | down 22.2% | rising |
| 80 | Algeria | 2.7% | 2019 | down 20.6% | falling |
| 80 | Peru | 2.7% | 2023 | down 25.0% | falling |
| 82 | Armenia | 2.6% | 2016 | down 38.1% | rising |
| 83 | Jamaica | 2.5% | 2018 | up 4.2% | falling |
| 83 | Jordan | 2.5% | 2023 | down 16.7% | falling |
| 85 | China | 2.4% | 2013 | down 64.7% | volatile |
| 86 | Palestine, State of | 2.1% | 2020 | down 43.2% | falling |
| 87 | Kazakhstan | 2.0% | 2015 | down 59.2% | falling |
| 88 | Mongolia | 1.9% | 2023 | up 18.8% | volatile |
| 89 | Uruguay | 1.8% | 2018 | down 53.8% | falling |
| 89 | Uzbekistan | 1.8% | 2021 | down 59.1% | volatile |
| 91 | Tunisia | 1.6% | 2018 | down 51.5% | volatile |
| 92 | Türkiye | 1.5% | 2018 | down 21.1% | volatile |
| 93 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 0.6% | 2019 | unchanged | flat |
| 94 | Chile | 0.5% | 2014 | down 16.7% | volatile |
| 95 | Korea | 0.4% | 2020 | down 50.0% | falling |
| 95 | United States of America | 0.4% | 2018 | down 42.9% | falling |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- South Asia 25.2%
- Low income 18.0%
- Lower middle income 17.8%
- Sub-Saharan Africa 15.7%
- Low & middle income 13.8%
- Middle income 12.7%
- World 12.2%
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 9.2%
- East Asia & Pacific 5.4%
- Latin America & Caribbean 2.7%
- Upper middle income 2.6%
- High income 0.8%
- North America 0.7%
- Europe & Central Asia 0.7%
About this data
Prevalence of underweight children is the percentage of children 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.