Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Vietnam
Vietnam: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 9.7% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Vietnam, 1988–2023
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 2023, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Vietnam stood at 9.7%. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.
The figure is down 4.9% on the previous year and down 36.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Vietnam peaked at 40.7% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 9.7%, in 2023.
That places Vietnam 49th out of 96 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Vietnam, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 40.7% | — |
| 1993 | 36.6% | -10.1% |
| 1994 | 40.6% | +10.9% |
| 1998 | 35.8% | -11.8% |
| 1999 | 31.1% | -13.1% |
| 2000 | 26.6% | -14.5% |
| 2002 | 23.3% | -12.4% |
| 2003 | 24.6% | +5.6% |
| 2004 | 23.6% | -4.1% |
| 2005 | 22.8% | -3.4% |
| 2006 | 21.9% | -3.9% |
| 2007 | 21.6% | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 20.5% | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 17.5% | -14.6% |
| 2010 | 11.7% | -33.1% |
| 2011 | 16.8% | +43.6% |
| 2012 | 16.2% | -3.6% |
| 2013 | 15.3% | -5.6% |
| 2014 | 14.5% | -5.2% |
| 2015 | 14.1% | -2.8% |
| 2016 | 13.8% | -2.1% |
| 2017 | 13.4% | -2.9% |
| 2018 | 12.8% | -4.5% |
| 2019 | 12.2% | -4.7% |
| 2020 | 11.6% | -4.9% |
| 2022 | 10.2% | -12.1% |
| 2023 | 9.7% | -4.9% |
Vietnam compared with similar countries
- Vietnam's 9.7% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 2.4× the median. (26 countries reporting)
- Vietnam's 9.7% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 15.3%, 63% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Vietnam changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | +43.6% | 11.7% | 16.8% |
| 2010 | -33.1% | 17.5% | 11.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 40.7% | 40.7% | 40.7% | 1 |
| 1990s | 36.0% | 31.1% | 40.6% | 4 |
| 2000s | 22.5% | 17.5% | 26.6% | 9 |
| 2010s | 14.1% | 11.7% | 16.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.5% | 9.7% | 11.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Vietnam
More poverty & inequality data for Vietnam
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 4 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 1.91 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 5,995 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 1.55 % change on previous year (2023)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gender Inequality Index 0.299 (2023)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 12.8% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Vietnam?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Vietnam was 9.7% in 2023, 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 Vietnam?
- The highest recorded value was 40.7% in 1988.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Vietnam?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.7% in 2023.
- How does Vietnam rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Vietnam ranks 49th out of 96 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Vietnam?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Vietnam 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.