childinfo.org: Breastfeeding

Last update:
March 2006

UNICEF GLOBAL DATABASE ON BREASTFEEDING INDICATORS
as of March 2006

Country	Year	Exclusive Breastfeeding Rate		Timely Complementary Feeding Rate	Continued Breastfeeding Rate		Source
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Country	Year	< 4 months	< 6 months	6-9 months	12-15 months	20-23 months	Source
Afghanistan	2003	-	-	29	92	54	MICS 2003.
Albania	2000	9	6	24	65	6	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Algeria	2000	16	13	38	55	22	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ.
Angola	2001	14	11	77	89	37	MICS 2001, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Armenia	2000	45	30	51	29	13	DHS 2000, Final report, Table 11.2, p. 146.
Azerbaijan	2000	9	7	39	38	16	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Bahrain	1995	34^x	34^xk	65^x	64^x	41^x	Gulf Family Health Survey 1995, Table 15.3, p.202.
Bangladesh	2004	45	36	69	96	94	DHS 2004, Preliminary report, Table 22, p. 31.
Belize	1999	24	24^k	54	-	23	Belize Family Health Survey 1999.
Benin	2001	48	38	66	96	62	DHS 2001, Final report, Table 10.2, p. 159.
Bolivia	2003	62	54	74	82	46	DHS 2003, Final report, Table 10.2, p. 201.
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1999	8	6	-	-	-	"Breastfeeding Coverage Survey in FbiH", Final Report, pp.4-6. and pp.19-21.
Botswana	2000	43	34	57	54	11	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Brazil	1996	-	-	30	33	17	DHS 1996, Table 9.2, p.127
Burkina Faso	2003	20	19	38	98	81	DHS 2003, Final report, Table 9.2, p. 148.
Burundi	2000	74	62	46	96	85	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Cambodia	2000	15	12	72	88	59	DHS 2000, Final report, Table 13.2, p. 166.
Cameroon	2004	28	21	80	83	29	DHS 2004, Preliminary report, Table 9, p.20.
Cape Verde	1998	57	57^k	64	60	13	Inquerito Demografico e de Saude Reproductive1998, Table 11.6, p. 170.
Central African Republic	2000	22	17	77	90	53	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Chad	2004	2	2	77	92	66	DHS 2004, Preliminary report, Table 9, p. 21.
Chile	2002	70	63	47	49	-	Comisión Nacional de Lactancia Materna 2004, Ministry of Health.
China	2003	77	51	32	43	15	Third National Health Services Survey, Ministry of Health, 2003.
Colombia	2000	34	26	58	49	25	DHS 2000, Final report, Table 10.2, p.140, Reanalyzed (complementary breastfeeding rate) by ORC Macro International, March 2001.
Comoros	2000	24	21	34	65	45	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Congo	1998-99	4	4^k	94	77	13	"Situation nutritionelle des populations congolaises," Ministry of Health, April 2000, p. 12.
Congo, Dem. Rep. of the	2001	29	24	79	92	52	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Cook Islands	1998	19	19^k	-	-	-	Raratonga Infant Feeding Survey 1999, South Pacific Comission Report.
Costa Rica	1993	35^x	35^xk	47^x	21^x	12^x	Encuesta Nacional de Salud Reproductiva 1993, p. 8-19, Cuadro 8.10.
Côte d'Ivoire	2003-04	-	5	73	80	38	Enquête Nutritionnelle Nationale, 2003-04, Table 7, p. 35
Croatia	1996	24	23	-	-	-	MICS 1996, p. 22.
Cuba	2000	46	41	42	29	9	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Dominican Republic	2002	13	10	41	30	16	DHS 2002, Final report, Table 10.2, p.216.
Ecuador	1999	42	35	70	60	25	ENDEMAIN 1999, Tables 10.5 and 10.6, pp. 213-214.
Egypt	2003	46	30	72	84	31	DHS 2003 (interim report), Table 6.5, p. 79.
El Salvador	2003	30	24	76	67	43	FESAL 2002/03, Final Report, Tables 13.13 and 13.14, pp. 348-349
Equatorial Guinea	2000	-	24	-	-	-	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ.
Eritrea	2002	65	52	43	92	62	DHS 2002, Final report, Table 10.2, p.164.
Ethiopia	2000	62	55	43	41	77	DHS 2000, Final report, Table 11.2, p. 143.
Fiji	1995	47^x	47^xk	-	-	-	Country Health Information Profile 1999, World Health Organization.
Gabon	2000	7	6	62	43	9	DHS 2000, Final report, Table 9.2, p. 165.
Gambia	2000	35	26	37	97	54	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Georgia	1999	18	18^k	12	30	12	MICS 1999, Final report, Table 20, p. 33.
Ghana	2003	64	53	62	96	67	DHS 2003, Final report, Table 10.2, p. 172.
Grenada	1998	39	39^k	-	-	-	Health Information Unit.
Guatemala	2002	56	51	67	81	47	ENSMI 2002, Final report, Table 9.6, p. 191.
Guinea	2003	26	23	43	93	73	MICS 2003, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, July 2005.
Guinea-Bissau	2000	42	37	36	91	67	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Guyana	2000	15	11	42	50	31	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Haiti	2000	32	24	73	82	30	DHS 2000, Final report, Table 10.2, p. 156.
Honduras	2001	43	35	61	76	34	ENESF-2001, Final report, Table 11.7, p. 317.
India	2000	37	37^k	44	88	66	MICS 2000, Table 7-8, pp. 37-38.
Indonesia	2002	55	40	75	85	59	DHS 2002-03, Final report, Table 14.2, p. 162.
Iran (Islamic Republic of)	2000	53	44	-	1	0	DHS 2000 (national report).
Iraq	2000	17	12	51	59	27	MICS 2000, Detailed Second Report, Tables 16-17, pp. 42 - 43.
Jordan	2002	40	27	70	51	12	DHS 2002, Final report, Table 10.2, p. 126.
Kazakhstan	1999	47	36	73	59	17	DHS 1999, Final report, Table 11.2, p. 138, Reanalyzed (complementary breastfeeding rate) by ORC Macro International, March 2001.
Kenya	2003	18	13	84	92	57	DHS 2003, Final report, Table 10.2, p. 155.
Kiribati	1993	80^x	80^xk	-	-	-	UNICEF, 2000, "Pacific Island Country Profile".
Korea, Dem. Rep.	2004	67	65	31	67	37	Nutrition Assessment 2004, Table 21, p. 59.
Kuwait	1996	12	12^k	26	21	9	Gulf Family Health Survey 1996, Final report, Table 15.3, p. 203.
Kyrgyzstan	1997	31	24	77	79	21	DHS 1997, Final report, Table 10.2, p. 117.
Lao PDR	2000	26	23	10	82	47	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Lebanon	2000	27	27^k	35	35	11	MICS 2000, Preliminary report, Table 10.
Lesotho	2000	22	15	51	86	58	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Liberia	1999-2000	41	35	70	89	45	National Nutrition Survey 1999-2000.
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	1995	-	-	-	39^x	23^x	PAPCHILD, MCH Survey 1995, Table 8.4, p. 87.
Macedonia, TFYR	1999	45	37	8	33	10	MICS 1999.
Madagascar	2003-04	77	67	78	91	64	DHS 2003-04, Final report, Table 9.2, p. 164.
Malawi	2000	63	44	93	98	77	DHS 2000, Final report, Table 10.2, p. 127.
Malaysia	1996	29	29^k	-	-	12	National Health and Morbidity Survey 1996, Public Health Department, Ministry of Health.
Maldives	2001	27	10	85	-	-	MICS 2001, Final report, Table 5.3.
Mali	2001	28	25	32	95	69	DHS 2001, Final report, Table 9.2, p. 140.
Marshall Islands	1991	63^x	63^xk	-	-	-	UNICEF, 2000, "Pacific Island Country Profile".
Mauritania	2000-2001	28	20	78	89	57	DHS 2001, Final report, Table 8.2, p. 136.
Mauritius	2002	21	21^k	-	-	-	Contraceptive Prevalence Survey 2002, Executive Summary, p. 15
Mexico	1987	38^x	38^xk	36^x	32^x	21^x	DHS 1987, Reanalyzed by ORC Macro International.
Micronesia (Federated States of)	1999	60	60^k	-	-	-	UNICEF, 2000, "Pacific Island Country Profile".
Mongolia	2000	64	51	55	75	57	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Morocco	2003	44	31	66	57	15	Enquête PAPFAM 2003, Draft Copy, Table 10.2.
Mozambique	2003	38	30	80	94	65	DHS 2003, Final report (national report), Table 10.2, p. 167.
Myanmar	2003	15	15^k	66	85	67	MICS 2003, Table 14, pp. 40-41.
Namibia	2000	26	19	57	75	37	DHS 2000, Final report, Table 10.2, p.145.
Nepal	2001	79	68	66	99	92	DHS 2001, Final report, Table 10.2, p. 174.
Nicaragua	2001	39	31	68	64	39	DHS 2001, Final report, Table 10.2, p. 223.
Niger	2000	2	1	56	96	61	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Nigeria	2003	22	17	64	90	34	DHS 2003, Final report, Table 11.2, p. 154.
Occupied Palestinian Territory	2000	29	29^k	78	49	11	Health Survey 2000, Main Findings, November 2000, Table 106, p. 172.
Oman	2000	-	-	92	95	73	National Health Survey 2000, Ministry of Health, p. 55.
Pakistan	1995	16^x	16^xk	31^x	88^x	56^x	MICS 1995, pp. 37 - 39.
Palau	1995	59^x	59^xk	-	-	-	Ministry of Health 1996.
Panama	1995	32^x	25^x	38^x	34^x	21^x	MICS 1995/1996, Table 14, p. 34.
Papua New Guinea	1996	75	59	74	92	66	DHS 1996 (national report).
Paraguay	2004	12	22	60	-	-	Encuesta Nacional de Demografía y Salud Reproductiva 2004, Informe Resumido, p. 73.
Peru	2000	73	67	76	84	49	DHS 2000, Final report, Table 10.2, p. 166.
Philippines	2003	43	34	58	56	32	DHS 2003, Final report (national report), Table 10.2, p. 152.
Qatar	1998	12	12^k	48	32	21	Gulf Family Health Survey 1998, Final report, Table 14.3, p. 191.
Rwanda	2000	90	84	79	95	71	DHS 2000, Final report, Table 9.2, p. 154.
Saint Kitts and Nevis	1998	56	56^k	-	24	-	Department of Health, 1998.
Sao Tome and Principe	2000	64	56	53	84	42	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Saudi Arabia	1996	31	31^k	60	59	30	Gulf Family Health Survey 1996, p. 60.
Senegal	1999-2000	24	24^k	64	94	49	MICS 1999-2000, Final report, pp. 52 - 53.
Serbia and Montenegro	2000	11	11^k	33	21	11	MICS 2000, Final report, Table 14, p. 31.
Sierra Leone	2000	3	4	51	85	53	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Solomon Islands	2000	65	65^k	-	-	-	UNICEF, 2000, "Pacific Island Country Profile".
Somalia	1999	21	9	13	27	8	MICS 2000, Preliminary report, p. 18.
South Africa	1998	10	7	67	67	30	DHS 1998, Final report, Table 8.2, p. 134.
Sri Lanka	2000	75	84	-	89	73	DHS 2000 (national report), Preliminary report, Table 4.3 - 4.4, p. 44.
Sudan	2000	20	16	47	84	40	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, December 2002.
Suriname	2000	13	9	25	43	11	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Swaziland	2000	31	24	60	77	25	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Syrian Arab Republic	2000	81	81^k	50	15	6	Study on Breastfeeding Practices and Related Information, Ministry of Health, 2000, Attachment 4-1.
Tajikistan	2003	64	50	-	-	-	Nutrition Survey 2003, p. 11 and Figure 11.
Tanzania, United Republic of	2003-04	55	41	91	91	55	DHS 2003-04, Preliminary report, Table 12, p. 24.
Thailand	1995	4^x	4^xk	71^x	55^x	27^x	"Assessment of Feeding Patterns of Children 0-24 Months", Ministry of Public Health, 1995, p. 24.
Timor-Leste	2003	39	31	82	76	35	DHS 2003, Final report (national report), Table 13.2, p. 191.
Togo	2000	23	18	65	95	65	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Tonga	1999	62	62^k	-	-	-	UNICEF, 2002, "Pacific Islands Country Profile".
Trinidad and Tobago	2000	2	2	19	26	10	MICS 2000, Reanalyzed by UNICEF HQ, February 2003.
Tunisia	2000	-	47	-	59	22	MICS 2000, Table 7.1.
Turkey	2003	28	21	38	55	24	DHS 2003, Final report (national report), Table 12.2, p. 142.
Turkmenistan	2000	16	13	71	76	27	DHS 2000, Final report, Table 11.2, p. 129.
Uganda	2000-01	75	63	75	89	50	DHS 2000-01, Final report, Table 10.2, p 145.
Ukraine	2000	31	22	-	-	-	Reproductive Health Survey 2000, Centers for Disease Control, Table 11.12, p. 182.
United Arab Emirates	1995	34^x	34^xk	52^x	50^x	29^x	Gulf Family Health Survey 1995, Final report, Table 15.3, p. 201.
Uzbekistan	2002	26	19	49	84	45	DHS/HES 2002, Final report, Table 10.6, p. 113.
Vanuatu	1996	50	50^k	-	-	-	UNICEF, 2001, "Pacific Island Country Profile".
Venezuela	1998	7	7^k	50	36	31	Encuesta Nacional de Poblacion y Vivienda 1998, Oficina Central de Estadistica e Informatica, 1998.
Viet Nam	2002	20	15	-	81	26	DHS 2002, Final report, Table 9.2, p. 103.
Yemen	2003	16	12	76	-	-	Family Health Survey 2003, Table 14.2, p. 135.
Zambia	2001-2002	53	40	87	97	58	DHS 2001-02, Final report, Table 11.2, p. 166.
Zimbabwe	1999	39	33	90	94	35	DHS 1999, Final report, Table 10.2, p.147, p.20.

Region	Exclusive Breastfeeding Rate		Timely Complementary Feeding Rate	Continued Breastfeeding Rate
Region	< 4 months	< 6 months	6-9 months	12-15 months	20-23 months
Sub-Saharan Africa	37	30	67	84	53
Eastern/Southern Africa	49	41	69	76	58
Western/Central Africa	25	20	65	91	48
Middle East and North Africa	36	29	60	55	23
South Asia	40	38	45	90	69
East Asia and the Pacific	63	44	44	56	27
Latin America and the Caribbean	-	-	45	48	26
CEE/CIS	29	22	45	60	26

Industrialized countries	-	-	-	-	-
Developing countries	45	36	51	73	46
Least developed countries	41	34	63	86	65
World	45	36	51	73	46

x. Indicates data that refer to years or periods other than those specified in the column heading, differ from the standard definition or refer to only part of a country.
k. Refers to exclusive breastfeeding for less than four months.
* Data refer to the most recent year available during the period specified in the column heading.

UNICEF GLOBAL DATABASE ON BREASTFEEDING INDICATORSas of March 2006

UNICEF GLOBAL DATABASE ON BREASTFEEDING INDICATORS
as of March 2006