LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Regional overview of food security and nutrition 2021: Statistics and trends

3.3 Prevalence of low birthweight

In Latin America and the Caribbean in 2015, the prevalence of low birthweight was 8.7 percent and did not vary much between 2000 and 2015. Although this means that there has been no progress with respect to the WHA target of reducing low birthweight by 30 percent, it is important to point out that the regional average is well below the world average of 14.6 percent. The Caribbean shows the highest prevalence of low birthweight in the region with a rate of 9.9 percent, followed by Mesoamerica with 8.7 percent and South America with 8.6 percent.

The countries with the highest prevalence of low birthweight in the region are Guyana (15.6 percent), Suriname (14.7 percent), Jamaica (14.6 percent), the Bahamas (13.1 percent) and Trinidad and Tobago (12.4 percent), while Chile and Cuba maintain rates below 7 percent.

Between 2000 and 2015, increases were recorded in the prevalence of low birthweight of 6 percent in Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), of 19 percent in Chile, of 8 percent in Brazil and of 7 percent in Costa Rica. Those countries that reduced the prevalence of low birthweight include the Plurinational State of Bolivia, which showed a 10 percent reduction and Cuba, which reduced it by 13 percent.