Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — Value in Malawi
Malawi: Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — Value was 15.6 % in 2020. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — Value in Malawi, 2000–2020
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 15.6 % for prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value in Malawi peaked at 16.5 % in 2000 and was at its lowest, 15.6 %, in 2019.
That places Malawi 24th out of 146 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — Value in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 16.5 % | — |
| 2001 | 16.4 % | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 16.4 % | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 16.3 % | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 16.2 % | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 16.2 % | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 16.1 % | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 16 % | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 15.9 % | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 15.9 % | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 15.8 % | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 15.8 % | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 15.8 % | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 15.8 % | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 15.8 % | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 15.8 % | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 15.8 % | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 15.8 % | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 15.7 % | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 15.6 % | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 15.6 % | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.19 % | 15.9 % | 16.5 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.77 % | 15.6 % | 15.8 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.6 % | 15.6 % | 15.6 % | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 22 Saint Lucia 16.3 % compare
- 22 Trinidad and Tobago 16.3 % compare
- 24 Namibia 15.6 % compare
- 26 Angola 15.5 % compare
- 27 Antigua and Barbuda 15.4 % compare
- 27 Bahamas 15.4 % compare
More agriculture & rural data for Malawi
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 24.6 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.3003 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 201.66 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.19 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0012 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.8241 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture share gdp 30.03 (2025)
- Value added in the agricultural sector as of gdp vs gdp per capita 30.03 (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value in Malawi?
- Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value in Malawi was 15.6 % in 2020, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 16.5 % in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.6 % in 2019.
- How does Malawi rank for prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value?
- Malawi ranks 24th out of 146 countries with data for 2020.
- Is prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — Value. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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.