Share of infants exclusively breastfed (0–5 months)
Percent of infants aged 0–5 months who are fed only breast milk. UNICEF/WHO modeled estimates enable broad cross-country comparison (latest year).
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Key Insights
- •Exclusive breastfeeding varies widely across countries, spanning roughly 1% to over 80% in the latest estimates.
- •Several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia report high exclusive breastfeeding prevalence, while a number of high-income countries report very low prevalence.
- •The indicator highlights where maternity protection, breastfeeding support, and marketing regulation of breast-milk substitutes may have the greatest potential impact.
Country Rankings
Top 10 Countries
Bottom 10 Countries
Data Analysis
Value Distribution
How countries are distributed across the value range
Regional Comparison
Average values by world region (Global avg: 35.2%)
About This Statistic
Exclusive breastfeeding (0–5 months) is the percentage of infants aged 0–5 months who received only breast milk during the previous day (no other liquids or foods, except oral rehydration solution, drops/syrups of vitamins, minerals, or medicines). It is a key global nutrition and child-health indicator because exclusive breastfeeding reduces infectious disease risk and supports optimal growth and development.
This statistic is compiled from nationally representative household surveys (primarily DHS and MICS). UNICEF and WHO harmonize and model the results to improve comparability across countries and years; the values below use the latest available modeled estimates in the 2019–2024 period (typically centered around 2021–2023 depending on country).
Full Data
| Rank ↑ | Country ↕ | Value ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rwanda | 86.0% |
| 2 | Burundi | 74.0% |
| 3 | Lesotho | 70.0% |
| 4 | South Sudan | 69.0% |
| 5 | Eritrea | 68.0% |
| 6 | Mongolia | 67.0% |
| 7 | Peru | 66.0% |
| 8 | Uganda | 66.0% |
| 9 | Cambodia | 65.0% |
| 10 | Bangladesh | 65.0% |
| 11 | India | 64.0% |
| 12 | Albania | 64.0% |
| 13 | Sri Lanka | 63.0% |
| 14 | Togo | 63.0% |
| 15 | Kenya | 61.0% |
| 16 | Malawi | 61.0% |
| 17 | Zimbabwe | 61.0% |
| 18 | Zambia | 61.0% |
| 19 | Mozambique | 59.0% |
| 20 | United Republic of Tanzania | 59.0% |
| 21 | Burkina Faso | 59.0% |
| 22 | Ethiopia | 58.0% |
| 23 | Bolivia | 58.0% |
| 24 | Ecuador | 57.0% |
| 25 | Nepal | 57.0% |
| 26 | Philippines | 57.0% |
| 27 | Armenia | 57.0% |
| 28 | Chile | 56.0% |
| 29 | New Caledonia | 56.0% |
| 30 | Sudan | 56.0% |
| 31 | Georgia | 55.0% |
| 32 | Guatemala | 55.0% |
| 33 | Republic of The Gambia | 54.0% |
| 34 | Namibia | 54.0% |
| 35 | Ghana | 52.0% |
| 36 | Indonesia | 52.0% |
| 37 | Myanmar | 51.0% |
| 38 | Madagascar | 50.0% |
| 39 | Uruguay | 50.0% |
| 40 | Central African Republic | 49.0% |
| 41 | Guinea | 49.0% |
| 42 | Papua New Guinea | 49.0% |
| 43 | Pakistan | 48.0% |
| 44 | Bulgaria | 47.0% |
| 45 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 47.0% |
| 46 | El Salvador | 47.0% |
| 47 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 47.0% |
| 48 | Malaysia | 47.0% |
| 49 | Portugal | 47.0% |
| 50 | Comoros | 45.0% |
| 51 | Fiji | 45.0% |
| 52 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 45.0% |
| 53 | Vietnam | 45.0% |
| 54 | Samoa | 45.0% |
| 55 | Botswana | 45.0% |
| 56 | Brazil | 45.0% |
| 57 | Honduras | 44.0% |
| 58 | Ireland | 44.0% |
| 59 | Kyrgyzstan | 44.0% |
| 60 | Nicaragua | 44.0% |
| 61 | Saudi Arabia | 43.0% |
| 62 | Eswatini | 43.0% |
| 63 | Syrian Arab Republic | 43.0% |
| 64 | Brunei Darussalam | 43.0% |
| 65 | Libya | 42.0% |
| 66 | Liberia | 41.0% |
| 67 | Türkiye | 41.0% |
| 68 | Angola | 41.0% |
| 69 | Solomon Islands | 41.0% |
| 70 | Haiti | 40.0% |
| 71 | Jamaica | 40.0% |
| 72 | Russian Federation | 40.0% |
| 73 | Egypt | 40.0% |
| 74 | Kazakhstan | 39.0% |
| 75 | Mali | 39.0% |
| 76 | Senegal | 39.0% |
| 77 | Uzbekistan | 39.0% |
| 78 | Austria | 38.0% |
| 79 | Colombia | 36.0% |
| 80 | Oman | 36.0% |
| 81 | Gabon | 35.0% |
| 82 | Cote d'Ivoire | 35.0% |
| 83 | Morocco | 35.0% |
| 84 | Sierra Leone | 34.0% |
| 85 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 34.0% |
| 86 | Cuba | 33.0% |
| 87 | Cape Verde | 32.0% |
| 88 | Costa Rica | 32.0% |
| 89 | Panama | 32.0% |
| 90 | South Africa | 32.0% |
| 91 | Paraguay | 31.0% |
| 92 | Qatar | 31.0% |
| 93 | Tajikistan | 31.0% |
| 94 | Cameroon | 30.0% |
| 95 | Canada | 29.0% |
| 96 | People's Republic of China | 29.0% |
| 97 | Mauritania | 29.0% |
| 98 | Nigeria | 29.0% |
| 99 | Venezuela | 29.0% |
| 100 | Algeria | 29.0% |
| 101 | Mexico | 28.0% |
| 102 | Spain | 28.0% |
| 103 | Bahrain | 28.0% |
| 104 | Slovenia | 27.0% |
| 105 | Republic of the Congo | 26.0% |
| 106 | Jordan | 26.0% |
| 107 | France | 25.0% |
| 108 | Iraq | 25.0% |
| 109 | Kuwait | 25.0% |
| 110 | The Republic of North Macedonia | 25.0% |
| 111 | United States of America | 25.0% |
| 112 | Afghanistan | 25.0% |
| 113 | Belize | 25.0% |
| 114 | Niger | 23.0% |
| 115 | Greece | 22.0% |
| 116 | Latvia | 22.0% |
| 117 | Greenland | 21.0% |
| 118 | Ukraine | 20.0% |
| 119 | Croatia | 19.0% |
| 120 | Denmark | 18.0% |
| 121 | Netherlands | 18.0% |
| 122 | Belgium | 18.0% |
| 123 | Montenegro | 17.0% |
| 124 | Benin | 16.0% |
| 125 | Hungary | 16.0% |
| 126 | Italy | 16.0% |
| 127 | Lebanon | 16.0% |
| 128 | Romania | 16.0% |
| 129 | Switzerland | 16.0% |
| 130 | Czech Republic | 15.0% |
| 131 | Mauritius | 15.0% |
| 132 | Moldova, Republic of | 15.0% |
| 133 | Serbia | 15.0% |
| 134 | Slovakia | 15.0% |
| 135 | Australia | 15.0% |
| 136 | Dominican Republic | 14.0% |
| 137 | Germany | 14.0% |
| 138 | Israel | 14.0% |
| 139 | Thailand | 14.0% |
| 140 | Tunisia | 14.0% |
| 141 | Estonia | 13.0% |
| 142 | New Zealand | 13.0% |
| 143 | Argentina | 13.0% |
| 144 | Belarus | 11.0% |
| 145 | Luxembourg | 10.0% |
| 146 | Poland | 10.0% |
| 147 | Suriname | 10.0% |
| 148 | Yemen | 10.0% |
| 149 | Finland | 8.0% |
| 150 | South Korea | 8.0% |
| 151 | Cyprus | 7.0% |
| 152 | Lithuania | 6.0% |
| 153 | Norway | 6.0% |
| 154 | Sweden | 6.0% |
| 155 | Djibouti | 5.0% |
| 156 | Somalia | 5.0% |
| 157 | Singapore | 4.0% |
| 158 | Chad | 2.0% |
| 159 | Iceland | 2.0% |
| 160 | Japan | 1.0% |
| 161 | United Kingdom | 1.0% |
| 162 | Barbados | 1.0% |
Topics
Data Source
This data comes from UNICEF/WHO Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates / UNICEF Data (Infant and young child feeding) (2023).
View Original Source