Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Jamaica
Jamaica: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 2.5% in 2018. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Jamaica, 1989–2018
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 2018, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Jamaica stood at 2.5%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 43.2% on the previous year and up 4.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Jamaica peaked at 6.1% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 1.8%, in 2007.
Jamaica ranks 83rd of 96 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 5.8% | — |
| 1991 | 5.6% | -3.4% |
| 1992 | 5.7% | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 6.1% | +7.0% |
| 1994 | 4.6% | -24.6% |
| 1995 | 4.8% | +4.3% |
| 1996 | 5.6% | +16.7% |
| 1997 | 3.5% | -37.5% |
| 1998 | 3.8% | +8.6% |
| 1999 | 2.1% | -44.7% |
| 2000 | 3.9% | +85.7% |
| 2001 | 4.0% | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 2.7% | -32.5% |
| 2004 | 3.1% | +14.8% |
| 2006 | 4.8% | +54.8% |
| 2007 | 1.8% | -62.5% |
| 2008 | 2.4% | +33.3% |
| 2010 | 3.4% | +41.7% |
| 2012 | 2.7% | -20.6% |
| 2014 | 2.2% | -18.5% |
| 2016 | 4.4% | +100.0% |
| 2018 | 2.5% | -43.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5.8% | 5.8% | 5.8% | 1 |
| 1990s | 4.6% | 2.1% | 6.1% | 9 |
| 2000s | 3.2% | 1.8% | 4.8% | 7 |
| 2010s | 3.0% | 2.2% | 4.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More poverty & inequality data for Jamaica
- 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 1.36 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,140 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 -1.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 27.77 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 27.8% (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 Jamaica?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Jamaica was 2.5% in 2018, 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 Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 6.1% in 1993.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.8% in 2007.
- How does Jamaica rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Jamaica ranks 83rd out of 96 countries with data for 2018.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Jamaica 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
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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.