Exclusive breastfeeding (% of children under 6 months) - Country Ranking

Definition: Exclusive breastfeeding refers to the percentage of children less than six months old who are fed breast milk alone (no other liquids) in the past 24 hours.

Source: UNICEF, State of the World's Children, Childinfo, and Demographic and Health Surveys.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Croatia 98.13 2008
2 Rwanda 86.90 2015
3 Chile 84.50 2006
4 Burundi 82.30 2017
5 Sri Lanka 82.00 2016
6 Solomon Islands 76.20 2015
7 Vanuatu 72.60 2013
8 São Tomé and Principe 71.70 2014
9 Dem. People's Rep. Korea 71.40 2017
10 Samoa 70.30 2014
11 Zambia 69.90 2018
12 Eritrea 68.70 2010
13 Nauru 67.20 2007
14 Lesotho 66.90 2014
15 Peru 66.40 2018
15 Kiribati 66.40 2009
17 Uganda 65.50 2016
18 Uruguay 65.20 2011
18 Nepal 65.20 2017
18 Cambodia 65.20 2014
21 Eswatini 63.80 2014
22 Kenya 61.40 2014
23 Cabo Verde 59.60 2005
24 Malawi 59.40 2016
25 Mongolia 59.20 2016
26 Palau 59.00 1995
26 Tanzania 59.00 2016
28 Turkmenistan 58.30 2016
28 Bolivia 58.30 2016
30 Afghanistan 57.50 2018
31 Togo 57.20 2014
32 Ethiopia 56.50 2016
33 Papua New Guinea 56.10 2007
34 St. Kitts and Nevis 55.60 1998
35 Bangladesh 55.30 2014
36 India 54.90 2016
37 Georgia 54.80 2009
38 Liberia 54.60 2013
38 Sudan 54.60 2014
40 Guatemala 53.20 2015
41 Iran 53.10 2011
42 Guinea-Bissau 52.50 2014
43 Tonga 52.20 2012
44 Ghana 52.10 2014
45 Bhutan 51.40 2015
46 Myanmar 51.20 2016
47 Indonesia 50.70 2017
48 Timor-Leste 50.20 2016
49 Namibia 48.30 2013
50 Burkina Faso 47.80 2017
51 Pakistan 47.50 2018
52 Dem. Rep. Congo 47.30 2014
53 Sierra Leone 47.20 2017
54 Zimbabwe 47.10 2015
55 The Gambia 46.80 2013
56 El Salvador 46.70 2014
57 Kyrgyz Republic 45.60 2018
58 Armenia 44.50 2016
59 Lao PDR 44.40 2017
60 Syrian Arab Republic 42.60 2009
61 Senegal 42.10 2017
62 Madagascar 41.90 2013
63 Benin 41.40 2018
64 Brazil 41.00 2008
64 Mozambique 41.00 2013
66 Mali 40.40 2018
67 Mauritania 40.30 2018
67 Malaysia 40.30 2016
69 Haiti 39.90 2017
70 Fiji 39.80 2004
71 Ecuador 39.60 2004
72 Egypt 39.50 2014
73 Grenada 39.00 1998
74 Kazakhstan 37.80 2015
75 Angola 37.40 2016
76 Albania 36.50 2018
77 Moldova 36.40 2012
78 Colombia 36.10 2015
79 Tajikistan 35.80 2017
80 Morocco 35.00 2017
81 Tuvalu 34.70 2007
81 United States 34.70 2016
83 United Arab Emirates 34.00 1995
84 Bahrain 33.80 1995
85 Guinea 33.40 2018
86 Belize 33.20 2016
87 Congo 32.90 2015
88 Cuba 32.80 2014
89 Costa Rica 32.50 2011
90 Argentina 32.00 2012
91 Nicaragua 31.70 2012
92 South Africa 31.60 2016
93 Saudi Arabia 31.00 1996
94 Honduras 30.70 2012
95 New Caledonia 30.60 2006
96 Turkey 30.10 2014
96 Mexico 30.10 2015
98 Botswana 30.00 2017
99 Paraguay 29.60 2016
100 Qatar 29.30 2012
101 Central African Republic 28.80 2014
102 Nigeria 28.70 2018
103 Cameroon 28.00 2014
104 Philippines 27.00 2011
105 Iraq 25.80 2018
106 Algeria 25.40 2013
106 Jordan 25.40 2018
108 Vietnam 24.00 2014
109 Jamaica 23.80 2011
109 Uzbekistan 23.80 2006
111 Niger 23.30 2012
112 Oman 23.20 2017
113 Côte d'Ivoire 23.10 2016
114 North Macedonia 23.00 2011
114 Thailand 23.00 2016
116 Panama 21.50 2013
116 Trinidad and Tobago 21.50 2011
118 Guyana 21.10 2014
119 Mauritius 21.00 2002
120 China 20.80 2013
121 Ukraine 19.70 2012
121 Barbados 19.70 2012
123 Belarus 19.00 2012
124 Bosnia and Herzegovina 18.20 2012
125 Montenegro 16.80 2013
126 Romania 15.80 2004
127 Lebanon 14.80 2009
128 Tunisia 13.50 2018
129 Serbia 12.80 2014
130 Djibouti 12.40 2012
131 Azerbaijan 12.10 2013
132 Kuwait 11.90 1996
133 Comoros 11.40 2012
134 Yemen 9.70 2013
135 Equatorial Guinea 7.40 2011
136 Venezuela 7.10 1998
137 Somalia 5.30 2009
138 Gabon 5.10 2012
139 Dominican Republic 4.60 2014
140 St. Lucia 3.50 2012
141 Suriname 2.80 2010
142 Chad 0.10 2015

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Development Relevance: For optimal infant and young child feeding, mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth, breastfeed exclusively for the first six months, and continue to breastfeed for two years or more while providing nutritionally adequate, safe, and age-appropriate solid, semisolid, and soft foods. Breast milk alone contains all the nutrients, antibodies, hormones, and antioxidants an infant needs to thrive. It protects babies from diarrhea and acute respiratory infections, stimulates their immune systems and response to vaccination, and may confer cognitive benefits.

Limitations and Exceptions: Most of the data on breastfeeding are derived from household surveys. For the data that are from household surveys, the year refers to the survey year.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual