Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 16.9% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Burkina Faso, 1993–2021
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
Burkina Faso recorded 16.9% for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 33.1% on the previous year and down 32.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Burkina Faso peaked at 30.9% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 12.7%, in 2020.
That places Burkina Faso 23rd out of 96 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Burkina Faso, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 28.7% | — |
| 1999 | 30.9% | +7.7% |
| 2009 | 26.0% | -15.9% |
| 2010 | 25.2% | -3.1% |
| 2011 | 25.1% | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 24.3% | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 20.9% | -14.0% |
| 2014 | 20.0% | -4.3% |
| 2015 | 22.8% | +14.0% |
| 2016 | 18.9% | -17.1% |
| 2017 | 16.2% | -14.3% |
| 2018 | 17.7% | +9.3% |
| 2019 | 16.4% | -7.3% |
| 2020 | 12.7% | -22.6% |
| 2021 | 16.9% | +33.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 29.8% | 28.7% | 30.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 26.0% | 26.0% | 26.0% | 1 |
| 2010s | 20.8% | 16.2% | 25.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.8% | 12.7% | 16.9% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Burkina Faso
More poverty & inequality data for Burkina Faso
- 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 4.19 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,198 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 -1.9 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 18.4 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 18.4% (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 Burkina Faso?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Burkina Faso was 16.9% 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 Burkina Faso?
- The highest recorded value was 30.9% in 1999.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.7% in 2020.
- How does Burkina Faso rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Burkina Faso ranks 23rd out of 96 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
- Over the last ten years it is down 32.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Burkina Faso 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 — 15 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.