Share of babies born with a low birthweight in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Share of babies born with a low birthweight was 19.4% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of babies born with a low birthweight in Papua New Guinea, 2000–2020
Source: UNICEF and World Health Organization (WHO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of births.
Analysis
Papua New Guinea recorded 19.4% for share of babies born with a low birthweight in 2020. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of babies born with a low birthweight in Papua New Guinea peaked at 19.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 18.0%, in 2000.
Papua New Guinea ranks 8th of 157 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Share of babies born with a low birthweight in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % of births | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 18.0% | — |
| 2001 | 18.1% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 18.2% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 18.2% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 18.3% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 18.4% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 18.5% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 18.6% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 18.7% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 18.8% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 18.8% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 18.9% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 19.0% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 19.1% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 19.1% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 19.2% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 19.3% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 19.3% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 19.3% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 19.4% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 19.4% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 18.4% | 18.0% | 18.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.1% | 18.8% | 19.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.4% | 19.4% | 19.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More population data for Papua New Guinea
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.0564 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -0.3478 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.0564 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.0669 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 14,910 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 1.58 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.5424 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth 0.0% (2100)
- Population density 41.16 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 1.15 million people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of babies born with a low birthweight in Papua New Guinea?
- Share of babies born with a low birthweight in Papua New Guinea was 19.4% in 2020, according to UNICEF and World Health Organization (WHO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of babies born with a low birthweight recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 19.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of babies born with a low birthweight recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.0% in 2000.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for share of babies born with a low birthweight?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 8th out of 157 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of babies born with a low birthweight rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF and World Health Organization (WHO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of babies born with a low birthweight. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated percentage of newborn babies that weigh under 2.5kg. These babies are more likely to suffer poor health and stunted growth.