Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Malawi
Malawi: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 12.8% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Malawi, 1992–2020
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
Malawi recorded 12.8% for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in 2020.
The figure is up 18.5% on the previous year and down 7.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Malawi peaked at 26.5% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 10.8%, in 2019.
Malawi ranks 36th of 96 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 24.4% | — |
| 1995 | 26.5% | +8.6% |
| 1998 | 23.5% | -11.3% |
| 2000 | 21.5% | -8.5% |
| 2002 | 21.7% | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 18.6% | -14.3% |
| 2006 | 15.6% | -16.1% |
| 2009 | 11.7% | -25.0% |
| 2010 | 13.9% | +18.8% |
| 2014 | 16.7% | +20.1% |
| 2015 | 11.8% | -29.3% |
| 2016 | 14.6% | +23.7% |
| 2017 | 12.3% | -15.8% |
| 2018 | 11.5% | -6.5% |
| 2019 | 10.8% | -6.1% |
| 2020 | 12.8% | +18.5% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 12.8% is below the median for low income countries, which is 16.9%, 76% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 12.8% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14.3%, 90% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 24.8% | 23.5% | 26.5% | 3 |
| 2000s | 17.8% | 11.7% | 21.7% | 5 |
| 2010s | 13.1% | 10.8% | 16.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 12.8% | 12.8% | 12.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More poverty & inequality data for Malawi
- 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 3.65 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,857 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 -4.49 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 15.06 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 15.1% (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 Malawi?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Malawi was 12.8% in 2020, 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 26.5% in 1995.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.8% in 2019.
- How does Malawi rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Malawi ranks 36th out of 96 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi 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.