Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 21.7% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Bangladesh, 1986–2022
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of children under 5.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Bangladesh is 21.7%, measured in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.
The figure is down 4.0% on the previous year and down 34.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Bangladesh peaked at 66.8% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 21.7%, in 2022.
Bangladesh ranks 12th of 96 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 66.8% | — |
| 1990 | 61.5% | -7.9% |
| 1991 | 61.2% | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 60.6% | -1.0% |
| 1993 | 56.1% | -7.4% |
| 1994 | 58.0% | +3.4% |
| 1995 | 55.2% | -4.8% |
| 1996 | 54.0% | -2.2% |
| 1997 | 53.6% | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 50.7% | -5.4% |
| 1999 | 49.5% | -2.4% |
| 2000 | 42.4% | -14.3% |
| 2001 | 43.2% | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 41.0% | -5.1% |
| 2003 | 38.9% | -5.1% |
| 2004 | 42.8% | +10.0% |
| 2005 | 39.7% | -7.2% |
| 2006 | 37.9% | -4.5% |
| 2007 | 41.3% | +9.0% |
| 2011 | 36.7% | -11.1% |
| 2012 | 33.0% | -10.1% |
| 2013 | 31.9% | -3.3% |
| 2014 | 32.8% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 31.0% | -5.5% |
| 2018 | 21.9% | -29.4% |
| 2019 | 22.6% | +3.2% |
| 2022 | 21.7% | -4.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 66.8% | 66.8% | 66.8% | 1 |
| 1990s | 56.0% | 49.5% | 61.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 40.9% | 37.9% | 43.2% | 8 |
| 2010s | 30.0% | 21.9% | 36.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 21.7% | 21.7% | 21.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More poverty & inequality data for Bangladesh
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 2.16 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 5,408 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 1.64 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 7.29 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 7.3% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Bangladesh?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Bangladesh was 21.7% in 2022, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 66.8% in 1986.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.7% in 2022.
- How does Bangladesh rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Bangladesh ranks 12th out of 96 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bangladesh data come from?
- The figures come from Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.