Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Turkey
Turkey: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 1.5% in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Turkey, 1993–2018
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
Turkey recorded 1.5% for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in 2018. That is the lowest value across all 7 years on record.
That represents a change of down 21.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Turkey peaked at 9.0% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 1.5%, in 2018.
Turkey ranks 92nd of 96 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Turkey, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 8.7% | — |
| 1995 | 9.0% | +3.4% |
| 1998 | 7.0% | -22.2% |
| 2004 | 3.5% | -50.0% |
| 2008 | 1.9% | -45.7% |
| 2013 | 2.3% | +21.1% |
| 2018 | 1.5% | -34.8% |
Turkey compared with similar countries
- Turkey's 1.5% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 37% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
- Turkey's 1.5% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2.6%, 58% of the median. (9 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.2% | 7.0% | 9.0% | 3 |
| 2000s | 2.7% | 1.9% | 3.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 1.9% | 1.5% | 2.3% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
- 89 Uruguay 1.8% compare
- 89 Uzbekistan 1.8% compare
- 91 Tunisia 1.6% compare
- 93 United Kingdom 0.6% compare
- 94 Chile 0.5% compare
- 95 South Korea 0.4% compare
- 95 United States 0.4% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Turkey
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 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 1.62 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,429 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 -6.3 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 23.22 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 23.2% (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 Turkey?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Turkey was 1.5% 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 Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 9.0% in 1995.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.5% in 2018.
- How does Turkey rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Turkey ranks 92nd out of 96 countries with data for 2018.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Turkey 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.