Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Myanmar
Myanmar: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 19.5% in 2018. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Myanmar, 1990–2018
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 Myanmar stood at 19.5%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.4% on the previous year and down 13.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Myanmar peaked at 38.7% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 18.5%, in 2016.
Myanmar ranks 15th of 96 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Myanmar, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 32.5% | — |
| 1991 | 37.0% | +13.8% |
| 1994 | 31.2% | -15.7% |
| 1995 | 38.7% | +24.0% |
| 1997 | 28.1% | -27.4% |
| 2000 | 30.0% | +6.8% |
| 2003 | 29.2% | -2.7% |
| 2009 | 22.6% | -22.6% |
| 2016 | 18.5% | -18.1% |
| 2018 | 19.5% | +5.4% |
Myanmar compared with similar countries
- Myanmar's 19.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.6%, 1.7× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Myanmar's 19.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 15.3%, 1.3× the median. (13 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 33.5% | 28.1% | 38.7% | 5 |
| 2000s | 27.3% | 22.6% | 30.0% | 3 |
| 2010s | 19.0% | 18.5% | 19.5% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Myanmar
- 12 Bangladesh 21.7% compare
- 13 Ethiopia 21.2% compare
- 14 Benin 19.6% compare
- 16 Guinea-Bissau 18.8% compare
- 17 Afghanistan 18.4% compare
- 17 Central African Republic 18.4% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Myanmar
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 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 2.12 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,779 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 -0.4426 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 6.44 (2019)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 6.4% (2019)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Myanmar?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Myanmar was 19.5% 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 Myanmar?
- The highest recorded value was 38.7% in 1995.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Myanmar?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.5% in 2016.
- How does Myanmar rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Myanmar ranks 15th out of 96 countries with data for 2018.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Myanmar?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Myanmar 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.