Number of newborns with low birthweight (million) — Value in World
World: Number of newborns with low birthweight (million) — Value was 19.8 million No in 2020. ▼ Falling
Number of newborns with low birthweight (million) — Value in World, 2000–2020
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in million No.
Analysis
In 2020, number of newborns with low birthweight (million) — value in World stood at 19.8 million No. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of newborns with low birthweight (million) — value in World peaked at 22.2 million No in 2001 and was at its lowest, 19.8 million No, in 2020.
World ranks 1st of 36 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Number of newborns with low birthweight (million) — Value in World, year by year
| Year | million No | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 22.1 million No | — |
| 2001 | 22.2 million No | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 22.1 million No | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 22 million No | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 21.9 million No | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 21.8 million No | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 21.7 million No | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 21.7 million No | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 21.7 million No | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 21.7 million No | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 21.6 million No | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 21.6 million No | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 21.6 million No | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 21.4 million No | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 21.1 million No | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 21 million No | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 20.9 million No | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 20.6 million No | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 20.4 million No | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 20.1 million No | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 19.8 million No | -1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 21.89 million No | 21.7 million No | 22.2 million No | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.03 million No | 20.1 million No | 21.6 million No | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.8 million No | 19.8 million No | 19.8 million No | 1 |
Countries ranked near World
- 1 India 6.3 million No compare
- 2 Bangladesh 0.7 million No compare
- 3 China 0.6 million No compare
- 4 Democratic Republic of the Congo 0.4 million No compare
- 4 Philippines 0.5 million No compare
More agriculture & rural data for World
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 4.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0401 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 577.68 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.2984 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4217 units per person (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2024)
- Rural population 42.2% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of newborns with low birthweight (million) — value in World?
- Number of newborns with low birthweight (million) — value in World was 19.8 million No in 2020, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest number of newborns with low birthweight (million) — value recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 22.2 million No in 2001.
- What is the lowest number of newborns with low birthweight (million) — value recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.8 million No in 2020.
- How does World rank for number of newborns with low birthweight (million) — value?
- World ranks 1st out of 36 groups with data for 2020.
- Is number of newborns with low birthweight (million) — value rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this World data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Number of newborns with low birthweight (million) — Value. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The Suite of Food Security Indicators presents the core set of food security indicators. Following the recommendation of experts gathered in the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Round Table on hunger measurement, hosted at FAO headquarters in September 2011, an initial set of indicators aiming to capture various aspects of food insecurity is presented here. The choice of the indicators has been informed by expert judgement and the availability of data with sufficient coverage to enable comparisons across regions and over time. Many of these indicators are produced and published elsewhere by FAO and other international organizations. They are reported here in a single database with the aim of building a wide food security information system. More indicators will be added to this set as more data will become available. Indicators are classified along the four dimensions of food security -- availability, access, utilization and stability.