Wasting in children — all countries

Wasting in children — United Kingdom

Wasting in children in the United Kingdom in 2019 — 0.4%. Ranked 1 in the world out of 46. Since 2007, the indicator has fallen by 0.2 pp.

2019 0.4% +0 pp vs 2018
World rank 1of 46
Period maximum 1.3%2011
Period minimum 0.2%2010

Trend over time

2007–2019 · % of children under 5

Wasting in children — United Kingdom, 2007–201900.511.520072009201120132015201720192007: 0.6%2008: 0.6%2009: 0.5%2010: 0.2%2011: 1.3%2012: 0.4%2013: 0.2%2014: 0.4%2015: 0.4%2016: 0.4%2017: 0.4%2018: 0.4%2019: 0.4%
Change over the period: −0.2 pp Annual average: -0.02 pp

Comparison, 2019

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: United Kingdom

United Kingdom 0.4%
World 6.8%
Wasting in children — United Kingdom, by year United Kingdom All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2019 0.4 +0 pp
2018 0.4 +0 pp
2017 0.4 +0 pp
2016 0.4 +0 pp
2015 0.4 +0 pp
2014 0.4 +0.2 pp
2013 0.2 −0.2 pp
2012 0.4 −0.9 pp
2011 1.3 +1.1 pp
2010 0.2 −0.3 pp
2009 0.5 −0.1 pp
2008 0.6 +0 pp
2007 0.6

Northern Europe, 2019

The same indicator for neighboring countries — with links to their pages

GB United Kingdom 0.4 FI Finland 1.2

About the indicator

The share of children under five whose weight falls short of the WHO norm for their height by more than two standard deviations. Unlike stunting, wasting speaks of an acute shortage of nutrition or of a recent illness, and it is reversible: with normal feeding a child regains the weight. That is exactly why wasting serves as an indicator of a current crisis — drought, war, breaks in supply — and not of long-standing poverty.

Important: The data come from sample surveys, so the years are intermittent. The aggregate by group is weighted by the number of children aged 0–14.

Source: Global Health Observatory (WHO), license CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.