United Kingdom vs United States: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty
United Kingdom
0.6%
in 2019
United States
0.4%
in 2018
United Kingdom rank
93rd
United States rank
95th
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty over time
- United Kingdom
- United States
How they compare
United Kingdom currently reports 0.6% against 0.4% in United States, a difference of 0.2%.
That makes United Kingdom's figure about 1.5 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 6 shared years of data; in 2008 it was United States ahead.
United Kingdom ranks 93rd and United States ranks 95th of 96 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | United Kingdom | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.1% | United States |
| 2010s | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.2% | United States |
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, United Kingdom or United States?
- United Kingdom, at 0.6% against 0.4% in United States as of 2019.
- What is the difference in share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty between United Kingdom and United States?
- 0.2%, with United Kingdom ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for United Kingdom and United States?
- 6 years are reported by both, from 2008 to 2018.
- How do United Kingdom and United States rank globally for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- United Kingdom ranks 93rd and United States ranks 95th 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.