Rank | Country | Children under the age of 5 years underweight (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Yemen | 39.9 | |
2 | Eritrea | 39.4 | |
3 | East Timor | 37.5 | |
4 | Sudan | 33.1 | |
5 | Djibouti | 29.9 | |
6 | Chad | 29.4 | |
7 | Papua New Guinea | 27.8 | |
8 | South Sudan | 27.7 | |
9 | Nepal | 27.2 | |
10 | Madagascar | 26.4 | |
11 | Cambodia | 24.1 | |
12 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 23.4 | |
13 | Pakistan | 23.1 | |
14 | Somalia | 23 | |
15 | Niger | 21.8 | |
16 | Nigeria | 21.8 | |
17 | Ethiopia | 21.1 | |
18 | Laos | 21.1 | |
19 | Central African Republic | 20.8 | |
20 | Sri Lanka | 20.5 | |
21 | Mauritania | 19.2 | |
22 | Afghanistan | 19.1 | |
23 | Philippines | 19.1 | |
24 | Angola | 19 | |
25 | Mali | 18.6 | |
26 | Burma | 18.5 | |
27 | Indonesia | 17.7 | |
28 | Maldives | 17.7 | |
29 | Burkina Faso | 17.7 | |
30 | Guinea-Bissau | 17 | |
31 | Comoros | 16.9 | |
32 | Benin | 16.8 | |
33 | Guinea | 16.3 | |
34 | Solomon Islands | 16.2 | |
35 | Togo | 15.2 | |
36 | Kiribati | 14.9 | |
37 | Tanzania | 14.6 | |
38 | Malaysia | 13.7 | |
39 | Liberia | 13.6 | |
40 | Sierra Leone | 13.6 | |
41 | Vietnam | 13.4 | |
42 | Senegal | 13.3 | |
43 | Namibia | 13.2 | |
44 | Bhutan | 12.7 | |
45 | Guatemala | 12.4 | |
46 | Congo, Republic of the | 12.3 | |
47 | Marshall Islands | 11.9 | |
48 | Malawi | 11.8 | |
49 | Libya | 11.7 | |
50 | Vanuatu | 11.7 |
Definition: This entry gives the percent of children under five considered to be underweight. Underweight means weight-for-age is approximately 2 kg below for standard at age one, 3 kg below standard for ages two and three, and 4 kg below standard for ages four and five. This statistic is an indicator of the nutritional status of a community. Children who suffer from growth retardation as a result of poor diets and/or recurrent infections tend to have a greater risk of suffering illness and death.
Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of January 1, 2020
See also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight map