Malawi - Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female (% of children under 5)

Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female (% of children under 5) in Malawi was 8.20 as of 2019. Its highest value over the past 27 years was 22.50 in 1998, while its lowest value was 8.20 in 2019.

Definition: Prevalence of underweight, female, is the percentage of girls 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 new child growth standards released in 2006.

Source: World Health Organization, Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition. Country-level data are unadjusted data from national surveys, and thus may not be comparable across countries.

See also:

Year Value
1992 22.40
1998 22.50
2000 20.10
2002 20.60
2004 17.50
2006 13.90
2009 11.30
2010 12.70
2014 15.80
2015 10.60
2016 14.10
2017 11.10
2018 11.80
2019 8.20

Aggregation method: Linear mixed-effect model estimates

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Undernourished children have lower resistance to infection and are more likely to die from common childhood ailments such as diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections. Frequent illness saps the nutritional status of those who survive, locking them int

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Nutrition