An estimated one in seven babies is born with a low birthweight

Globally, 20.5 million babies were born with a low birthweight in 2015, and over 90% of these babies were born in low and middle income countries, according to the first worldwide estimates.1

The paper, published in The Lancet Global Health, found around one in seven babies were born with a low birthweight, defined as <2500 g or about 5.5 pounds, with most cases occurring in southern Asia (48%) and sub-Saharan Africa (24%).

Researchers warned that progress to reduce prevalence of low birthweight has been slow in high income countries, with almost no change between 2000 and 2015 in countries including Australia, Finland, France, Germany, …