Prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Chile

Chile: Prevalence of underweight, weight for age was 0.5% in 2014. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2014)
0.5%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
94th
of 96 countries
All-time high
2.2%
in 1986
All-time low
0.5%
in 2008
Years of data
15
1986–2014

Prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Chile, 1986–2014

0.511.521986200020141986: 2.2 % of children under 51994: 0.8 % of children under 51995: 0.8 % of children under 51996: 0.7 % of children under 51998: 0.7 % of children under 51999: 0.7 % of children under 52001: 0.7 % of children under 52002: 0.7 % of children under 52003: 0.6 % of children under 52004: 0.6 % of children under 52006: 0.6 % of children under 52007: 0.6 % of children under 52008: 0.5 % of children under 52013: 0.5 % of children under 52014: 0.5 % of children under 5

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

Chile recorded 0.5% for prevalence of underweight, weight for age in 2014. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.

That represents a change of down 16.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Chile peaked at 2.2% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2008.

Chile ranks 94th of 96 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Chile, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5) in Chile, 1986 to 2014.
Year % of children under 5 Change
1986 2.2%
1994 0.8% -63.6%
1995 0.8% +0.0%
1996 0.7% -12.5%
1998 0.7% +0.0%
1999 0.7% +0.0%
2001 0.7% +0.0%
2002 0.7% +0.0%
2003 0.6% -14.3%
2004 0.6% +0.0%
2006 0.6% +0.0%
2007 0.6% +0.0%
2008 0.5% -16.7%
2013 0.5% +0.0%
2014 0.5% +0.0%

Chile compared with similar countries

  • Chile's 0.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.8%, 18% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
  • Chile's 0.5% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 3.7%, 14% of the median. (17 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 2.2% 2.2% 2.2% 1
1990s 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 5
2000s 0.6% 0.5% 0.7% 7
2010s 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 2

Countries ranked near Chile

  1. 91 Tunisia 1.6% compare
  2. 92 Türkiye 1.5% compare
  3. 93 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 0.6% compare
  4. 95 Korea 0.4% compare
  5. 95 United States of America 0.4% compare

See the full ranking of 110 places →

More health data for Chile

All data for Chile →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Chile?
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Chile was 0.5% in 2014, 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 recorded in Chile?
The highest recorded value was 2.2% in 1986.
What is the lowest prevalence of underweight, weight for age recorded in Chile?
The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2008.
How does Chile rank for prevalence of underweight, weight for age?
Chile ranks 94th out of 96 countries with data for 2014.
Is prevalence of underweight, weight for age rising or falling in Chile?
Over the last ten years it is down 16.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Chile 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 (% of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Chile. Statizoid, drawing on 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'. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-underweight-weight-for-age-percent-of-children-under-5/chile/

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About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5)
Unit
% of children under 5
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'
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
110 places, 1,307 data points, 1984–2024
Last refreshed

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.