Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Egypt
Egypt: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 3.7% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Egypt, 1988–2021
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
The most recent figure for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Egypt is 3.7%, measured in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
That represents a change of down 45.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Egypt peaked at 10.8% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 3.7%, in 2021.
That places Egypt 68th out of 96 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Egypt, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 10.5% | — |
| 1991 | 10.5% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 8.2% | -21.9% |
| 1995 | 10.8% | +31.7% |
| 1997 | 10.2% | -5.6% |
| 1998 | 9.4% | -7.8% |
| 2003 | 8.7% | -7.4% |
| 2005 | 5.4% | -37.9% |
| 2008 | 6.8% | +25.9% |
| 2014 | 7.0% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 3.7% | -47.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 10.5% | 10.5% | 10.5% | 1 |
| 1990s | 9.8% | 8.2% | 10.8% | 5 |
| 2000s | 7.0% | 5.4% | 8.7% | 3 |
| 2010s | 7.0% | 7.0% | 7.0% | 1 |
| 2020s | 3.7% | 3.7% | 3.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Egypt
More poverty & inequality data for Egypt
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 3 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 2.75 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 7,402 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 4.55 % change on previous year (2023)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via -25 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gender Inequality Index 0.398 (2023)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 8.0% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Egypt?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Egypt was 3.7% 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 Egypt?
- The highest recorded value was 10.8% in 1995.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Egypt?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 2021.
- How does Egypt rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Egypt ranks 68th out of 96 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Egypt?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Egypt 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.
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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.