Countries With The Smallest Percentage Of Low Birth Weight Babies

A baby weighing less than 5.5 pounds is classified as low birth weight and at risk for early mortality, stunted growth and chronic health conditions as an adult. Among countries with the best record, China is notable for its dramatic improvement, ranking 22nd in 2000 and now tied for 8th in 2015. The U.S. trails other high-income nations and is ranked 31st.

#	Country	Total live births	Low weight	Rate
1	Sweden	118,500	2,900	2.4%
2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	32,500	1,100	3.4%
3	Finland	59,200	2,400	4.1%
4	Estonia	14,100	600	4.3%
5	Latvia	20,200	900	4.5%
5	Norway	61,600	2,800	4.5%
5	Lithuania	31,200	1,400	4.5%
5	Serbia	93,800	4,300	4.5%
6	Albania	34,800	1,600	4.6%
7	Turkmenistan	144,400	7,100	4.9%
8	China	17,121,600	846,900	5.0%
8	Republic of Moldova	42,700	2,100	5.0%
31	United States	4,002,500	321,100	8.0%

Ranking based on estimates from 147 countries with more than 10,000 live births in 2015.