Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5) in Venezuela
Venezuela: Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5) was 2.9% in 2009. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Venezuela, 1984–2009
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 in Venezuela is 2.9%, measured in 2009. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.4% on the previous year and down 29.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Venezuela peaked at 6.7% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 2009.
Venezuela ranks 76th of 96 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5) in Venezuela, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 3.9% | — |
| 1990 | 6.7% | +71.8% |
| 1991 | 5.4% | -19.4% |
| 1992 | 4.5% | -16.7% |
| 1993 | 4.0% | -11.1% |
| 1994 | 3.9% | -2.5% |
| 1995 | 4.1% | +5.1% |
| 1996 | 4.4% | +7.3% |
| 1997 | 4.5% | +2.3% |
| 1998 | 4.6% | +2.2% |
| 1999 | 4.1% | -10.9% |
| 2000 | 3.9% | -4.9% |
| 2001 | 4.0% | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 4.2% | +5.0% |
| 2003 | 4.6% | +9.5% |
| 2004 | 4.5% | -2.2% |
| 2005 | 4.1% | -8.9% |
| 2006 | 3.9% | -4.9% |
| 2007 | 3.7% | -5.1% |
| 2008 | 3.2% | -13.5% |
| 2009 | 2.9% | -9.4% |
Venezuela compared with similar countries
- Venezuela's 2.9% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.6%, 25% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Venezuela's 2.9% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 3.7%, 78% of the median. (17 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5) in Venezuela changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +71.8% | 3.9% | 6.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 3.9% | 3.9% | 3.9% | 1 |
| 1990s | 4.6% | 3.9% | 6.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.9% | 2.9% | 4.6% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Venezuela
- 73 Azerbaijan 3.0% compare
- 73 Dominican Republic 3.0% compare
- 73 Morocco 3.0% compare
- 76 Costa Rica 2.9% compare
- 76 Kyrgyzstan 2.9% compare
- 79 Kuwait 2.8% compare
More health data for Venezuela
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.88 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.44 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 888 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.4153 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0356 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.4549 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0374 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Venezuela?
- Prevalence of underweight, weight for age in Venezuela was 2.9% in 2009, 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 Venezuela?
- The highest recorded value was 6.7% in 1990.
- What is the lowest prevalence of underweight, weight for age recorded in Venezuela?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 2009.
- How does Venezuela rank for prevalence of underweight, weight for age?
- Venezuela ranks 76th out of 96 countries with data for 2009.
- Is prevalence of underweight, weight for age rising or falling in Venezuela?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Venezuela 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.