Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Nigeria
Nigeria: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 24.4% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Nigeria, 1990–2021
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 2021, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Nigeria stood at 24.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 32.6% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Nigeria peaked at 35.1% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 18.4%, in 2020.
That places Nigeria 7th out of 96 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.
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 Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 33.1% | — |
| 1993 | 35.1% | +6.0% |
| 2003 | 26.7% | -23.9% |
| 2011 | 24.2% | -9.4% |
| 2014 | 20.6% | -14.9% |
| 2015 | 19.5% | -5.3% |
| 2016 | 31.5% | +61.5% |
| 2018 | 21.8% | -30.8% |
| 2020 | 18.4% | -15.6% |
| 2021 | 24.4% | +32.6% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 24.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.6%, 2.1× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 24.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14.3%, 1.7× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 34.1% | 33.1% | 35.1% | 2 |
| 2000s | 26.7% | 26.7% | 26.7% | 1 |
| 2010s | 23.5% | 19.5% | 31.5% | 5 |
| 2020s | 21.4% | 18.4% | 24.4% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More poverty & inequality data for Nigeria
- 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 4.48 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,558 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 0.607 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 7.17 (2007)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 7.2% (2007)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2007)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Nigeria?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Nigeria was 24.4% in 2021, 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 Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 35.1% in 1993.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.4% in 2020.
- How does Nigeria rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Nigeria ranks 7th out of 96 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria 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.