Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Maldives
Maldives: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 14.8% in 2017. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Maldives, 1994–2017
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
Maldives recorded 14.8% for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in 2017. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.
That represents a change of down 16.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Maldives peaked at 39.0% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 14.8%, in 2017.
That places Maldives 33rd out of 96 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Maldives, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 32.5% | — |
| 1995 | 39.0% | +20.0% |
| 1997 | 37.9% | -2.8% |
| 2001 | 25.7% | -32.2% |
| 2009 | 17.7% | -31.1% |
| 2017 | 14.8% | -16.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 36.5% | 32.5% | 39.0% | 3 |
| 2000s | 21.7% | 17.7% | 25.7% | 2 |
| 2010s | 14.8% | 14.8% | 14.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
More poverty & inequality data for Maldives
- 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 1.57 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,442 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 0.3782 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 23.61 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 23.6% (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 Maldives?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Maldives was 14.8% in 2017, 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 Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 39.0% in 1995.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.8% in 2017.
- How does Maldives rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Maldives ranks 33rd out of 96 countries with data for 2017.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Maldives 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.