Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Tunisia
Tunisia: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 1.6% in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Tunisia, 1988–2018
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
Tunisia recorded 1.6% for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in 2018. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.
That represents a change of down 51.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Tunisia peaked at 8.5% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 2018.
Tunisia ranks 91st of 96 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Tunisia, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 8.5% | — |
| 1997 | 3.3% | -61.2% |
| 2000 | 3.5% | +6.1% |
| 2006 | 3.3% | -5.7% |
| 2012 | 2.3% | -30.3% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | -30.4% |
Tunisia compared with similar countries
- Tunisia's 1.6% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.6%, 14% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Tunisia's 1.6% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 3.8%, 42% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 8.5% | 8.5% | 8.5% | 1 |
| 1990s | 3.3% | 3.3% | 3.3% | 1 |
| 2000s | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 1.9% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Tunisia
More poverty & inequality data for Tunisia
- 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 1.83 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,891 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 45.41 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 34.76 (2022)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 34.8% (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Tunisia?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Tunisia was 1.6% 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 Tunisia?
- The highest recorded value was 8.5% in 1988.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Tunisia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 2018.
- How does Tunisia rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Tunisia ranks 91st out of 96 countries with data for 2018.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Tunisia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 51.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Tunisia 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.