Prevalence of underweight, weight for age, female (% of children under 5) - Country Ranking - Central America & the Caribbean

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: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Guatemala 12.10 2015
2 Haiti 8.30 2017
3 Honduras 6.50 2012
4 Barbados 4.70 2012
5 El Salvador 4.50 2014
6 Nicaragua 4.30 2012
7 Belize 4.10 2015
7 Dominican Republic 4.10 2013
9 Jamaica 3.90 2016
10 Trinidad and Tobago 3.80 2011
11 Costa Rica 3.20 2018
12 Panama 2.60 2019
13 Cuba 2.50 2019
14 St. Lucia 1.60 2012

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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