Bangladesh vs Pakistan: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty
Bangladesh
21.7%
in 2022
Pakistan
23.1%
in 2018
Bangladesh rank
12th
Pakistan rank
9th
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty over time
- Bangladesh
- Pakistan
How they compare
Pakistan currently reports 23.1% against 21.7% in Bangladesh, a difference of 1.4%.
That makes Pakistan's figure about 1.1 times Bangladesh's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 8 shared years of data; in 1986 it was Bangladesh ahead.
Bangladesh ranks 12th and Pakistan ranks 9th of 96 countries.
Bangladesh has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Bangladesh | Pakistan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 66.8% | 44.4% | 22.4% | Bangladesh |
| 1990s | 59.0% | 36.0% | 23.0% | Bangladesh |
| 2000s | 43.2% | 31.2% | 12.0% | Bangladesh |
| 2010s | 30.2% | 28.8% | 1.4% | Bangladesh |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty, Bangladesh or Pakistan?
- Pakistan, at 23.1% against 21.7% in Bangladesh as of 2018.
- What is the difference in share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty between Bangladesh and Pakistan?
- 1.4%, with Pakistan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Bangladesh and Pakistan?
- 8 years are reported by both, from 1986 to 2018.
- How do Bangladesh and Pakistan rank globally for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Bangladesh ranks 12th and Pakistan ranks 9th of 96 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Underweight children are those less than 5 years old, whose weight for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population. Extreme poverty is defined as living below the International Poverty Line of $3 per day.