Share of low birthweight babies born in United States
United States: Share of low birthweight babies born was 8.26 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of low birthweight babies born in United States, 2000–2020
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, share of low birthweight babies born in United States stood at 8.26. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of low birthweight babies born in United States peaked at 8.26 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 7.85, in 2000.
United States ranks 102nd of 157 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Share of low birthweight babies born in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.85 | — |
| 2001 | 7.87 | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 7.89 | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 7.92 | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 7.94 | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 7.96 | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 7.99 | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 8.02 | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 8.06 | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 8.09 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 8.12 | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 8.14 | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 8.15 | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 8.17 | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 8.18 | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 8.18 | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 8.19 | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 8.2 | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 8.22 | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 8.24 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 8.26 | +0.3% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 8.26 is above the median for high income countries, which is 7.54, 1.1× the median. (58 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.96 | 7.85 | 8.09 | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.18 | 8.12 | 8.24 | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.26 | 8.26 | 8.26 | 1 |
Countries ranked near United States
More population data for United States
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.1369 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -2.8 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.1369 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.0241 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 375,392 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.4762 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate 0.1565 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate 0.129 (2100)
- Population density 46.05 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 19.91 million (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of low birthweight babies born in United States?
- Share of low birthweight babies born in United States was 8.26 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of low birthweight babies born recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 8.26 in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of low birthweight babies born recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.85 in 2000.
- How does United States rank for share of low birthweight babies born?
- United States ranks 102nd out of 157 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of low birthweight babies born rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of low birthweight babies born. 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).