Spain: Prevalence of anemia among children (% of children ages 6-59 months)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Spain's prevalence of anemia among children (% of children ages 6-59 months) rose 0.4 percentage points on 2018 (from 14.2% to 14.6%).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2018), the average change was +0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.12 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.4 percentage points in 2019 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.2 percentage points in 2001. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2010 to 2019 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.22 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 97% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 14.93% for 2022. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2017 to 2019 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.4%, against 0.63% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2019, Spain had the 168th highest value of the 190 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Spain in the 2019 ranking

• France — 166th of 190: 14.7%
• Montenegro — 167th of 190: 14.7%
• Austria — 168th of 190: 14.6%
• Sweden — 170th of 190: 14.6%
• Cyprus — 171st of 190: 14.5%
• Denmark — 172nd of 190: 14.5%

What this measures

Prevalence of anemia, children ages 6-59 months, is the percentage of children ages 6-59 months whose hemoglobin level is less than 110 grams per liter, adjusted for altitude.

Limitations: Data for blood haemoglobin concentrations are still limited, compared to other nutritional indicators such as child anthropometry. As a result, the estimates may not capture the full variation across countries and regions.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 20 values

Prevalence of anemia among children (% of children ages 6-59 months) in nearby economies

• Albania — 30.9% (2019)
• Andorra — 14.1% (2019)
• Armenia — 19.6% (2019)
• Austria — 14.6% (2019)
• Azerbaijan — 24.8% (2019)
• Belarus — 17.8% (2019)
• Belgium — 17.4% (2019)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 24.3% (2019)
• Bulgaria

More health data for Spain

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 3.41% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 3.74% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 3.03 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 12.04% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 3.2 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 13.22% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 6.23 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 12.62% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 4% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Spain's prevalence of anemia among children (% of children ages 6-59 months)?

14.6% in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 2.6 percentage points from 12% in 2000. The highest value was 14.6% in 2019 and the lowest 11.8% in 2001.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.ANM.CHLD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Global Health Observatory Data Repository/World Health Statistics, World Health Organization (WHO) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.