5. Low birth-weight: reduction of the rate of low birth-weight (2.5 kilograms or less) to less than 10 per cent

Progress made: Decreasing rate of low birth weight

NA

10% of all babies born in 100 developing countries weigh less than 2.5 kg.

Enormous regional differences exist:
South Asia – 26% (9.6 million babies annually)
Sub-Saharan Africa – 12% (3.1 million babies annually)
Latin America and the Caribbean – 9%
East Asia and the Pacific – 8%
CEE/CIS – 9%
Industrialised Countries – 7%
The estimates may be low because many infants in developing countries are not weighed at birth.