The State of the World's Children 1998

Countries in each region	% of infants with low birthweight 1990-94	% of children (1990-96) who are			% of under-fives (1990-97) suffering from				Total goitre rate (6-11 years) (%) 1985-94	% of households consuming iodized salt 1992-96
Countries in each region	% of infants with low birthweight 1990-94	exclusively breastfed (0-3 months)	breastfed with complementary food (6-9 months)	still breastfeeding (20-23) months	underweight moderate and severe	underweight severe	wasting moderate and severe	stunting moderate and severe	Total goitre rate (6-11 years) (%) 1985-94	% of households consuming iodized salt 1992-96
Sub-Saharan Africa	16	32	61	47	30	10	8	42	18	50
Middle East and North Africa	11	43	39	-	17	5	7	23	20	52
South Asia	33	46	32	65	51	19	17	52	18	61
East Asia and Pacific	11	56	70	-	20	-	-	-	21	52
Latin America and Caribbean	10	38	44	22	10	1	3	18	12	87
CEE/CIS and Baltic States	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	20	25
Industrialized countries	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Developing countries	18	44	45	50	30	11	11	37	18	57
Least developed countries	23	46	56	51	39	13	10	47	29	38
World	17	44	45	50	30	11	11	37	18	56

Definitions of the indicators	Main data sources
Low birthweight - Less than 2,500 grams. Underweight - Moderate and severe - below minus two standard deviations from median weight for age of reference population; severe - below minus three standard deviations from median weight for age of reference population. Wasting - Moderate and severe - below minus two standard deviations from median weight for height of reference population. Stunting - Moderate and severe - below minus two standard deviations from median height for age of reference population. Total goitre rate - Percentage of children aged 6-11 with palpable or visible goitre. This is an indicator of iodine deficiency, which causes brain damage and mental retardation.	Low birthweight - World Health Organization (WHO). Breastfeeding - Demographic and Health Surveys, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and World Health Organization (WHO). Underweight, wasting and stunting -Demographic and Health Surveys, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and World Health Organization (WHO). Salt iodization -UNICEF and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS). Goitre rate - World Health Organization (WHO).
Notes
- Data not available. x Indicates data that refer to years or periods other than those specified in the column heading, differ from the standard definition, or refer to only part of a country.