Prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Prevalence of underweight, weight for age was 2.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Latin America & Caribbean, 2000–2024
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
Latin America & Caribbean recorded 2.7% for prevalence of underweight, weight for age in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.8% on the previous year and down 24.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 5.3% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 2.7%, in 2024.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5.3% | — |
| 2001 | 5.2% | -2.8% |
| 2002 | 5.0% | -2.5% |
| 2003 | 4.9% | -2.8% |
| 2004 | 4.8% | -2.6% |
| 2005 | 4.7% | -2.7% |
| 2006 | 4.5% | -2.6% |
| 2007 | 4.4% | -2.9% |
| 2008 | 4.3% | -2.7% |
| 2009 | 4.2% | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 4.0% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 3.9% | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 3.8% | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 3.7% | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 3.6% | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 3.5% | -2.8% |
| 2016 | 3.4% | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 3.3% | -2.9% |
| 2018 | 3.2% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 3.1% | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 3.1% | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 3.0% | -2.9% |
| 2022 | 2.9% | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 2.8% | -2.4% |
| 2024 | 2.7% | -2.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.7% | 4.2% | 5.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.6% | 3.1% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.9% | 2.7% | 3.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
- 7 Nigeria 24.4% compare
- 8 Laos 24.3% compare
- 9 Pakistan 23.1% compare
- 10 Madagascar 22.6% compare
- 11 Mauritania 22.4% compare
- 12 Bangladesh 21.7% compare
- 13 Ethiopia 21.2% compare
More health data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Population ages 05-09, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 65 and above, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, male, annual growth rate 1.78 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, female, per capita 0.033 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, female, annual growth rate 1.72 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, per capita 0.0344 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, per capita 0.0369 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Latin America & Caribbean was 2.7% in 2024, 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 Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 5.3% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of underweight, weight for age recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.7% in 2024.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for prevalence of underweight, weight for age?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 10th out of 14 groups with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of underweight, weight for age rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean 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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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.