Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Uruguay
Uruguay: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 1.8% in 2018. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Uruguay, 1987–2018
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
Uruguay recorded 1.8% for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in 2018.
The figure is down 45.5% on the previous year and down 53.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Uruguay peaked at 6.5% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 2013.
That places Uruguay 89th out of 96 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom 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 Uruguay, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 6.5% | — |
| 1999 | 4.7% | -27.7% |
| 2002 | 5.4% | +14.9% |
| 2003 | 5.0% | -7.4% |
| 2004 | 6.0% | +20.0% |
| 2007 | 3.9% | -35.0% |
| 2011 | 3.9% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | -71.8% |
| 2016 | 3.3% | +200.0% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | -45.5% |
Uruguay compared with similar countries
- Uruguay's 1.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.8%, 64% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
- Uruguay's 1.8% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 3.7%, 49% of the median. (17 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 6.5% | 6.5% | 6.5% | 1 |
| 1990s | 4.7% | 4.7% | 4.7% | 1 |
| 2000s | 5.1% | 3.9% | 6.0% | 4 |
| 2010s | 2.5% | 1.1% | 3.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Uruguay
More poverty & inequality data for Uruguay
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 9 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 1.41 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 5,058 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 10.1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 25.88 (2021)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 25.9% (2021)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Uruguay?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Uruguay was 1.8% 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 Uruguay?
- The highest recorded value was 6.5% in 1987.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Uruguay?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 2013.
- How does Uruguay rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Uruguay ranks 89th out of 96 countries with data for 2018.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Uruguay?
- Over the last ten years it is down 53.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Uruguay 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.