Indicator 2.2.3 - Prevalence of anaemia in women aged 15 to 49 years, by pregnancy status (percentage) - U.K. Indicators For The Sustainable Development Goals

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Since September 2023 we have paused the uploading of data reported on this site. However, the hyperlinks for the indicator data sources could be used to see where the data is published and whether newer data will become available in future. You can also find up to date SDG data on the UN SDG website which reports globally comparable data.

Prevalence of anaemia in non-pregnant women aged 15-49

Anaemia is highly prevalent globally, disproportionately affecting children and women of reproductive age. It negatively affects cognitive and motor development and work capacity, and among pregnant women iron deficiency anaemia is associated with adverse reproductive outcomes, including preterm delivery, low-birth-weight infants, and decreased iron stores for the baby, which may lead to impaired development. Iron deficiency is considered the most common cause of anaemia, but there are other nutritional and non-nutritional causes.

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Download source data for disaggregations (.csv)

Headline data

Prevalence of anaemia in non pregnant women aged 15-49
Year	Value	Units	Series	Observation status	Unit multiplier
2019	10.9	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2018	10.5	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2017	10.2	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2016	9.9	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2015	9.7	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2014	9.5	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2013	9.3	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2012	9.2	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2011	9.1	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2010	9.0	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2009	8.9	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2008	8.9	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2007	8.8	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2006	8.8	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2005	8.8	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2004	8.8	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2003	8.8	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2002	8.9	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2001	9.0	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units
2000	9.2	Percentage (%)	Proportion of women aged 15-49 years with anaemia, non-pregnant	Estimated value	Units

Source: World Health Organisation

Geographical Area: United Kingdom

Unit of Measurement: Percentage (%)

Footnote: Please note the y axis does not go to 100% for ease of visualisation.

This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from UK statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from UK statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other UK-specific metadata information.

Indicator available	Prevalence of anaemia in non-pregnant women aged 15-49
Indicator description	Not available for this indicator
Geographical coverage	United Kingdom
Unit of measurement	Percentage (%)
Definitions	Percentage of women aged 15−49 years with a haemoglobin concentration less than 120 g/L for non-pregnant women and lactating women, adjusted for altitude and smoking. Anaemia can be assessed by measuring blood haemoglobin, and when used in combination with other indicators of iron status, blood haemoglobin provides information about the severity of iron deficiency. The anaemia prevalence for the population is used to classify the public health significance of the problem.
Available disaggregations	Pregnancy status is a required disaggregation, but here we only present the data for non-pregnant women. Pregnancy breakdown can be found from the original data source, but it may not be a reliable representation for the UK (see Other information field for further details).
Calculations	No calculations were performed because the data is readily available in the required format from the source.
Other information	Data on the prevalence of anaemia and/or mean haemoglobin in women of reproductive age, collected between 1995 and 2019 were obtained from 408 population-representative data sources from 124 countries worldwide. These data were then modelled on a worldwide level and similar countries data were used to create the data for the UK. Therefore caution should be used when using the data displayed above and when using the data (and additional data) on the WHO database for all women and pregnant women. We have not reported the WHO data for pregnant women in the UK because it is based on a model with minimal UK data, so it is likely not reliable for the national context. You can see these data through the SDG Global Database. Data follows the UN specification for this indicator. This indicator has not been identified in collaboration with topic experts.
Data last updated	18 March 2022
Metadata last updated	28 March 2022

This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the UN Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata is provided by the UN Statistics Division.

Indicator name	Prevalence of anaemia in women aged 15 to 49 years, by pregnancy status (percentage)
Target name	By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons
UN designated tier	Tier I
UN custodian agency	World Health Organisation (WHO)
Link to UN metadata	United Nations Sustainable Development Goals metadata for target 2.2 opens in a new window

Organisation	World Health Organisation
Periodicity	Every 2-3 years
Earliest available data	2000
Geographical coverage	United Kingdom
Link to data source	Prevalence of Anaemia opens in a new window
Release date	19 April 2021
Next release	To be confirmed: We plan to update indicator data within 4 months of data being released
Statistical classification	Official international
Contact details	nutrition@who.int
Other information	Not available for this source

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