Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Benin
Benin: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 19.6% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Benin, 1996–2021
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
In 2021, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Benin stood at 19.6%.
That represents a change of up 16.7% on the previous year and up 14.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Benin peaked at 25.6% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 16.8%, in 2018.
Benin ranks 14th of 96 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Benin, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 25.6% | — |
| 2001 | 19.5% | -23.8% |
| 2008 | 17.1% | -12.3% |
| 2014 | 18.0% | +5.3% |
| 2018 | 16.8% | -6.7% |
| 2021 | 19.6% | +16.7% |
Benin compared with similar countries
- Benin's 19.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.6%, 1.7× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Benin's 19.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14.3%, 1.4× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25.6% | 25.6% | 25.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 18.3% | 17.1% | 19.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 17.4% | 16.8% | 18.0% | 2 |
| 2020s | 19.6% | 19.6% | 19.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Benin
- 11 Mauritania 22.4% compare
- 12 Bangladesh 21.7% compare
- 13 Ethiopia 21.2% compare
- 15 Myanmar 19.5% compare
- 16 Guinea-Bissau 18.8% compare
- 17 Afghanistan 18.4% compare
- 17 Central African Republic 18.4% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Benin
- 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 4.56 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,356 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 20.35 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 11.63 (2013)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 11.6% (2013)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2013)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Benin?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Benin was 19.6% in 2021, 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 Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 25.6% in 1996.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.8% in 2018.
- How does Benin rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Benin ranks 14th out of 96 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Benin 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 — 6 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.