Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Mexico
Mexico: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 4.2% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Mexico, 1988–2022
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 2022, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Mexico stood at 4.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Mexico peaked at 10.9% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 2.8%, in 2012.
That places Mexico 66th out of 96 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Mexico, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 10.9% | — |
| 1989 | 9.6% | -11.9% |
| 1996 | 10.3% | +7.3% |
| 1998 | 5.6% | -45.6% |
| 2002 | 4.2% | -25.0% |
| 2005 | 6.0% | +42.9% |
| 2006 | 3.4% | -43.3% |
| 2012 | 2.8% | -17.6% |
| 2015 | 3.9% | +39.3% |
| 2016 | 4.2% | +7.7% |
| 2019 | 4.7% | +11.9% |
| 2020 | 4.6% | -2.1% |
| 2021 | 4.2% | -8.7% |
| 2022 | 4.2% | +0.0% |
Mexico compared with similar countries
- Mexico's 4.2% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 1.0× the median. (26 countries reporting)
- Mexico's 4.2% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 3.7%, 1.1× the median. (17 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 10.2% | 9.6% | 10.9% | 2 |
| 1990s | 8.0% | 5.6% | 10.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 4.5% | 3.4% | 6.0% | 3 |
| 2010s | 3.9% | 2.8% | 4.7% | 4 |
| 2020s | 4.3% | 4.2% | 4.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More poverty & inequality data for Mexico
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 5 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 1.91 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 4,262 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 7.9 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 14.27 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 14.3% (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 Mexico?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Mexico was 4.2% in 2022, 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 Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 10.9% in 1988.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.8% in 2012.
- How does Mexico rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Mexico ranks 66th out of 96 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is up 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mexico 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.