IBRD only | Low-birthweight babies (% of births)
Low-birthweight babies are newborns weighing less than 2,500 grams, with the measurement taken within the first hour of life, before significant postnatal weight loss has occurred. Development relevance: Low birth-weight, which is associated with maternal malnutrition, raises the risk of infant mortality and stunts growth in infancy and childhood. There is also emerging evidence that low-birth-weight babies are more prone to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Low birth-weight can arise as a result of a baby being born too soon or too small for gestational age. Babies born prematurely, who are also small for their gestational age, have the worst prognosis. In low- and middle-income countries low birth-weight stems primarily from poor maternal health and nutrition. Three factors have the most impact: poor maternal nutritional status before conception, mother's short stature (due mostly to under-nutrition and infections during childhood), and poor nutrition during pregnancy (UNICEF Data, https://data.unicef.org/).
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
IBRD only
Records
63
Source
IBRD only | Low-birthweight babies (% of births)
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
17.97219998 2000
18.05770258 2001
18.02106321 2002
17.93292119 2003
17.75206525 2004
17.49626818 2005
17.32995219 2006
17.11430077 2007
16.915126 2008
16.80623175 2009
16.63798438 2010
16.16911509 2011
15.722221 2012
15.85054684 2013
15.41687232 2014
15.64279254 2015
15.23053912 2016
15.23847771 2017
15.51370172 2018
15.46925086 2019
15.78278598 2020
2021
2022
IBRD only | Low-birthweight babies (% of births)
Low-birthweight babies are newborns weighing less than 2,500 grams, with the measurement taken within the first hour of life, before significant postnatal weight loss has occurred. Development relevance: Low birth-weight, which is associated with maternal malnutrition, raises the risk of infant mortality and stunts growth in infancy and childhood. There is also emerging evidence that low-birth-weight babies are more prone to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Low birth-weight can arise as a result of a baby being born too soon or too small for gestational age. Babies born prematurely, who are also small for their gestational age, have the worst prognosis. In low- and middle-income countries low birth-weight stems primarily from poor maternal health and nutrition. Three factors have the most impact: poor maternal nutritional status before conception, mother's short stature (due mostly to under-nutrition and infections during childhood), and poor nutrition during pregnancy (UNICEF Data, https://data.unicef.org/).
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
IBRD only
Records
63
Source