Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — Value in Western Africa

Western Africa: Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — Value was 14.3 % in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
14.3 %
Change on year
unchanged
Rank
11th
of 36 groups
All-time high
16.4 %
in 2000
All-time low
14.3 %
in 2019
Years of data
21
2000–2020

Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — Value in Western Africa, 2000–2020

0510152000201020202000: 16.4 %2001: 16.3 %2002: 16.1 %2003: 16 %2004: 15.9 %2005: 15.7 %2006: 15.6 %2007: 15.5 %2008: 15.4 %2009: 15.3 %2010: 15.2 %2011: 15.1 %2012: 14.9 %2013: 14.8 %2014: 14.7 %2015: 14.6 %2016: 14.6 %2017: 14.5 %2018: 14.4 %2019: 14.3 %2020: 14.3 %

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2020, prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value in Western Africa stood at 14.3 %. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.

That represents a change of down 5.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value in Western Africa peaked at 16.4 % in 2000 and was at its lowest, 14.3 %, in 2019.

That places Western Africa 11th out of 36 groups with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.

Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — Value in Western Africa, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — Value in Western Africa, 2000 to 2020.
Year % Change
2000 16.4 %
2001 16.3 % -0.6%
2002 16.1 % -1.2%
2003 16 % -0.6%
2004 15.9 % -0.6%
2005 15.7 % -1.3%
2006 15.6 % -0.6%
2007 15.5 % -0.6%
2008 15.4 % -0.6%
2009 15.3 % -0.6%
2010 15.2 % -0.7%
2011 15.1 % -0.7%
2012 14.9 % -1.3%
2013 14.8 % -0.7%
2014 14.7 % -0.7%
2015 14.6 % -0.7%
2016 14.6 % +0.0%
2017 14.5 % -0.7%
2018 14.4 % -0.7%
2019 14.3 % -0.7%
2020 14.3 % +0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 15.82 % 15.3 % 16.4 % 10
2010s 14.71 % 14.3 % 15.2 % 10
2020s 14.3 % 14.3 % 14.3 % 1

Countries ranked near Western Africa

  1. 8 Papua New Guinea 19.4 % compare
  2. 8 Türkiye 12.9 % compare
  3. 9 Jordan 18.9 % compare
  4. 9 Micronesia 12.3 % compare
  5. 10 Madagascar 18.7 % compare
  6. 10 Mauritius 18.7 % compare
  7. 11 Democratic Republic of the Congo 10.2 % compare
  8. 12 Burkina Faso 18.5 % compare
  9. 12 United Republic of Tanzania 9.7 % compare
  10. 13 Sri Lanka 18 % compare
  11. 13 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 9.3 % compare
  12. 14 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 7.9 % compare
  13. 14 Mozambique 17.8 % compare

See the full ranking of 198 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Western Africa

All data for Western Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value in Western Africa?
Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value in Western Africa was 14.3 % in 2020, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value recorded in Western Africa?
The highest recorded value was 16.4 % in 2000.
What is the lowest prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value recorded in Western Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 14.3 % in 2019.
How does Western Africa rank for prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value?
Western Africa ranks 11th out of 36 groups with data for 2020.
Is prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — value rising or falling in Western Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 5.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Western Africa 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.

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Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — Value in Western Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 05 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-low-birthweight-percent-value/western-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of low birthweight (percent) — Value
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
198 places, 4,158 data points, 2000–2020
Last refreshed

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.