Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Jamaica
Jamaica: Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted was 5,720 in 2018. ▼ Falling
Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted in Jamaica, 1989–2018
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Jamaica recorded 5,720 for malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in 2018. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.6% on the previous year and down 2.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Jamaica peaked at 16,220 in 1991 and was at its lowest, 5,720, in 2018.
That places Jamaica 89th out of 99 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 9,490 | 9,490 | 9,490 | 1 |
| 1990s | 10,022 | 6,630 | 16,220 | 9 |
| 2000s | 8,006 | 5,890 | 11,290 | 7 |
| 2010s | 7,226 | 5,720 | 10,750 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More environment data for Jamaica
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 9.42 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 3.32 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 0.43 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0303 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0828 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0028 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 0.8368 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.004 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0136 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.2734 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Jamaica?
- Malnutrition: number of children who are wasted in Jamaica was 5,720 in 2018, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest malnutrition: number of children who are wasted recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 16,220 in 1991.
- What is the lowest malnutrition: number of children who are wasted recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 5,720 in 2018.
- How does Jamaica rank for malnutrition: number of children who are wasted?
- Jamaica ranks 89th out of 99 countries with data for 2018.
- Is malnutrition: number of children who are wasted rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Jamaica data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Malnutrition: Number of children who are wasted. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated number of children younger than five who are 'wasted'. Wasting is when a child’s weight is significantly lower than the average for their height, for example because of acute food shortage or disease.