{"id": 1205135, "name": "Exclusive breastfeeding (% of children under 6 months)", "unit": "% of children under 6 months", "createdAt": "2026-03-01T08:24:30.000Z", "updatedAt": "2026-05-19T08:03:33.000Z", "coverage": "", "timespan": "1986-2020", "datasetId": 7396, "shortUnit": "%", "columnOrder": 0, "shortName": "sh_sta_bfed_zs", "catalogPath": "grapher/worldbank_wdi/2026-02-27/wdi/wdi#sh_sta_bfed_zs", "descriptionFromProducer": "Exclusive breastfeeding refers to the percentage of children less than six months old who are fed breast milk alone (no other liquids) in the past 24 hours.\n\n### Aggregation method:\nWeighted average\n\n### Statistical concept and methodology:\nMethodology: This indicator is calculated by dividing the number of infants aged 0\u20135 months who received only breast milk during the previous day by the total number of infants aged 0\u20135 months, then multiplying the result by 100.\n\n\nData collection involves Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), which include questions about liquids and foods given the previous day, as well as the number of milk feeds the previous day, to determine if the child is being exclusively breastfed. WHO and UNICEF jointly collect data on infant and young child feeding, pooling information from national surveys. Additionally, the WHO Programme of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the Regional Office for Europe independently compiles country-specific information on exclusive breastfeeding.\n\n### Development relevance:\nFor optimal infant and young child feeding, mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth, breastfeed exclusively for the first six months, and continue to breastfeed for two years or more while providing nutritionally adequate, safe, and age-appropriate solid, semisolid, and soft foods. Breast milk alone contains all the nutrients, antibodies, hormones, and antioxidants an infant needs to thrive. It protects babies from diarrhea and acute respiratory infections, stimulates their immune systems and response to vaccination, and may confer cognitive benefits.\n\n### Limitations and exceptions:\nMost of the data on breastfeeding are derived from household surveys. For the data that are from household surveys, the year refers to the survey year.", "type": "float", "dataChecksum": "9053454382843919385", "metadataChecksum": "-6152194794067348365", "datasetName": "World Development Indicators", "updatePeriodDays": 365, "datasetVersion": "2026-02-27", "nonRedistributable": false, "display": {"unit": "% of children under 6 months", "shortUnit": "%"}, "schemaVersion": 2, "presentation": {}, "dimensions": {"years": {"values": [{"id": 2006}, {"id": 2015}, {"id": 2018}, {"id": 2000}, {"id": 2005}, {"id": 2009}, {"id": 2013}, {"id": 2019}, {"id": 2001}, {"id": 2016}, {"id": 2011}, {"id": 2012}, {"id": 2010}, {"id": 1995}, {"id": 1994}, {"id": 1997}, {"id": 2004}, {"id": 2007}, {"id": 2014}, {"id": 1999}, {"id": 1996}, {"id": 2008}, {"id": 1989}, {"id": 1998}, {"id": 2003}, {"id": 2017}, {"id": 1986}, {"id": 1993}, {"id": 1987}, {"id": 1991}, {"id": 2002}, {"id": 1990}, {"id": 2020}, {"id": 1988}, {"id": 1992}]}, "entities": {"values": [{"id": 15, "name": "Afghanistan", "code": "AFG"}, {"id": 16, "name": "Albania", "code": "ALB"}, {"id": 17, "name": "Algeria", "code": "DZA"}, {"id": 19, "name": "Angola", "code": "AGO"}, {"id": 21, "name": "Argentina", "code": "ARG"}, {"id": 22, "name": "Armenia", "code": "ARM"}, {"id": 25, "name": "Azerbaijan", "code": "AZE"}, {"id": 27, "name": "Bahrain", "code": "BHR"}, {"id": 28, "name": "Bangladesh", "code": "BGD"}, {"id": 29, "name": "Barbados", "code": "BRB"}, {"id": 30, "name": "Belarus", "code": "BLR"}, {"id": 31, "name": "Belize", "code": "BLZ"}, {"id": 32, "name": "Benin", "code": "BEN"}, {"id": 33, "name": "Bhutan", "code": "BTN"}, {"id": 34, "name": "Bolivia", "code": "BOL"}, {"id": 35, "name": "Bosnia and Herzegovina", "code": "BIH"}, {"id": 36, "name": "Botswana", "code": "BWA"}, {"id": 37, "name": "Brazil", "code": "BRA"}, {"id": 40, "name": "Burkina Faso", "code": "BFA"}, {"id": 41, "name": "Burundi", "code": "BDI"}, {"id": 42, "name": "Cambodia", "code": "KHM"}, {"id": 43, "name": "Cameroon", "code": "CMR"}, {"id": 45, "name": "Cape Verde", "code": "CPV"}, {"id": 174, "name": "Central African Republic", "code": "CAF"}, {"id": 173, "name": "Chad", "code": "TCD"}, {"id": 172, "name": "Chile", "code": "CHL"}, {"id": 171, "name": "China", "code": "CHN"}, {"id": 170, "name": "Colombia", "code": "COL"}, {"id": 169, "name": "Comoros", "code": "COM"}, {"id": 168, "name": "Congo", "code": "COG"}, {"id": 166, "name": "Costa Rica", "code": "CRI"}, {"id": 143, "name": "Cote d'Ivoire", "code": "CIV"}, {"id": 165, "name": "Croatia", "code": "HRV"}, {"id": 164, "name": "Cuba", "code": "CUB"}, {"id": 167, "name": "Democratic Republic of Congo", "code": "COD"}, {"id": 154, "name": "Djibouti", "code": "DJI"}, {"id": 160, "name": "Dominican Republic", "code": "DOM"}, {"id": 349172, "name": "East Asia and Pacific (WB)", "code": "WB_EAP"}, {"id": 225, "name": "East Timor", "code": "TLS"}, {"id": 201, "name": "Ecuador", "code": "ECU"}, {"id": 65, "name": "Egypt", "code": "EGY"}, {"id": 259, "name": "El Salvador", "code": "SLV"}, {"id": 159, "name": "Equatorial Guinea", "code": "GNQ"}, {"id": 157, "name": "Eritrea", "code": "ERI"}, {"id": 78, "name": "Eswatini", "code": "SWZ"}, {"id": 158, "name": "Ethiopia", "code": "ETH"}, {"id": 202, "name": "Fiji", "code": "FJI"}, {"id": 153, "name": "Gabon", "code": "GAB"}, {"id": 151, "name": "Gambia", "code": "GMB"}, {"id": 152, "name": "Georgia", "code": "GEO"}, {"id": 150, "name": "Ghana", "code": "GHA"}, {"id": 206, "name": "Grenada", "code": "GRD"}, {"id": 148, "name": "Guatemala", "code": "GTM"}, {"id": 147, "name": "Guinea", "code": "GIN"}, {"id": 94, "name": "Guinea-Bissau", "code": "GNB"}, {"id": 146, "name": "Guyana", "code": "GUY"}, {"id": 145, "name": "Haiti", "code": "HTI"}, {"id": 139, "name": "Honduras", "code": "HND"}, {"id": 137, "name": "India", "code": "IND"}, {"id": 136, "name": "Indonesia", "code": "IDN"}, {"id": 135, "name": "Iran", "code": "IRN"}, {"id": 134, "name": "Iraq", "code": "IRQ"}, {"id": 265, "name": "Isle of Man", "code": "IMN"}, {"id": 132, "name": "Jamaica", "code": "JAM"}, {"id": 130, "name": "Jordan", "code": "JOR"}, {"id": 131, "name": "Kazakhstan", "code": "KAZ"}, {"id": 129, "name": "Kenya", "code": "KEN"}, {"id": 204, "name": "Kiribati", "code": "KIR"}, {"id": 208, "name": "Kuwait", "code": "KWT"}, {"id": 126, "name": "Kyrgyzstan", "code": "KGZ"}, {"id": 125, "name": "Laos", "code": "LAO"}, {"id": 349170, "name": "Latin America and Caribbean (WB)", "code": "WB_LAC"}, {"id": 124, "name": "Lebanon", "code": "LBN"}, {"id": 123, "name": "Lesotho", "code": "LSO"}, {"id": 121, "name": "Liberia", "code": "LBR"}, {"id": 461, "name": "Low-income countries", "code": "OWID_LIC"}, {"id": 460, "name": "Lower-middle-income countries", "code": "OWID_LMC"}, {"id": 118, "name": "Madagascar", "code": "MDG"}, {"id": 117, "name": "Malawi", "code": "MWI"}, {"id": 116, "name": "Malaysia", "code": "MYS"}, {"id": 211, "name": "Maldives", "code": "MDV"}, {"id": 115, "name": "Mali", "code": "MLI"}, {"id": 223, "name": "Marshall Islands", "code": "MHL"}, {"id": 114, "name": "Mauritania", "code": "MRT"}, {"id": 213, "name": "Mauritius", "code": "MUS"}, {"id": 113, "name": "Mexico", "code": "MEX"}, {"id": 222, "name": "Micronesia (country)", "code": "FSM"}, {"id": 111, "name": "Moldova", "code": "MDA"}, {"id": 112, "name": "Mongolia", "code": "MNG"}, {"id": 215, "name": "Montenegro", "code": "MNE"}, {"id": 110, "name": "Morocco", "code": "MAR"}, {"id": 109, "name": "Mozambique", "code": "MOZ"}, {"id": 142, "name": "Myanmar", "code": "MMR"}, {"id": 108, "name": "Namibia", "code": "NAM"}, {"id": 218, "name": "Nauru", "code": "NRU"}, {"id": 107, "name": "Nepal", "code": "NPL"}, {"id": 220, "name": "New Caledonia", "code": "NCL"}, {"id": 105, "name": "Nicaragua", "code": "NIC"}, {"id": 104, "name": "Niger", "code": "NER"}, {"id": 103, "name": "Nigeria", "code": "NGA"}, {"id": 278896, "name": "North America (WB)", "code": "WB_NA"}, {"id": 128, "name": "North Korea", "code": "PRK"}, {"id": 66, "name": "North Macedonia", "code": "MKD"}, {"id": 217, "name": "Oman", "code": "OMN"}, {"id": 101, "name": "Pakistan", "code": "PAK"}, {"id": 224, "name": "Palau", "code": "PLW"}, {"id": 140, "name": "Palestine", "code": "PSE"}, {"id": 100, "name": "Panama", "code": "PAN"}, {"id": 99, "name": "Papua New Guinea", "code": "PNG"}, {"id": 98, "name": "Paraguay", "code": "PRY"}, {"id": 97, "name": "Peru", "code": "PER"}, {"id": 96, "name": "Philippines", "code": "PHL"}, {"id": 226, "name": "Qatar", "code": "QAT"}, {"id": 92, "name": "Romania", "code": "ROU"}, {"id": 91, "name": "Rwanda", "code": "RWA"}, {"id": 227, "name": "Saint Kitts and Nevis", "code": "KNA"}, {"id": 229, "name": "Saint Lucia", "code": "LCA"}, {"id": 239, "name": "Samoa", "code": "WSM"}, {"id": 232, "name": "Sao Tome and Principe", "code": "STP"}, {"id": 90, "name": "Saudi Arabia", "code": "SAU"}, {"id": 89, "name": "Senegal", "code": "SEN"}, {"id": 88, "name": "Serbia", "code": "SRB"}, {"id": 87, "name": "Sierra Leone", "code": "SLE"}, {"id": 195, "name": "Solomon Islands", "code": "SLB"}, {"id": 82, "name": "Somalia", "code": "SOM"}, {"id": 81, "name": "South Africa", "code": "ZAF"}, {"id": 277956, "name": "South Asia (WB)", "code": "WB_SA"}, {"id": 258, "name": "South Sudan", "code": "SSD"}, {"id": 141, "name": "Sri Lanka", "code": "LKA"}, {"id": 277950, "name": "Sub-Saharan Africa (WB)", "code": "WB_SSA"}, {"id": 79, "name": "Sudan", "code": "SDN"}, {"id": 234, "name": "Suriname", "code": "SUR"}, {"id": 77, "name": "Syria", "code": "SYR"}, {"id": 76, "name": "Tajikistan", "code": "TJK"}, {"id": 64, "name": "Tanzania", "code": "TZA"}, {"id": 75, "name": "Thailand", "code": "THA"}, {"id": 74, "name": "Togo", "code": "TGO"}, {"id": 235, "name": "Tonga", "code": "TON"}, {"id": 73, "name": "Trinidad and Tobago", "code": "TTO"}, {"id": 71, "name": "Tunisia", "code": "TUN"}, {"id": 70, "name": "Turkey", "code": "TUR"}, {"id": 69, "name": "Turkmenistan", "code": "TKM"}, {"id": 237, "name": "Tuvalu", "code": "TUV"}, {"id": 68, "name": "Uganda", "code": "UGA"}, {"id": 67, "name": "Ukraine", "code": "UKR"}, {"id": 72, "name": "United Arab Emirates", "code": "ARE"}, {"id": 13, "name": "United States", "code": "USA"}, {"id": 459, "name": "Upper-middle-income countries", "code": "OWID_UMC"}, {"id": 63, "name": "Uruguay", "code": "URY"}, {"id": 62, "name": "Uzbekistan", "code": "UZB"}, {"id": 221, "name": "Vanuatu", "code": "VUT"}, {"id": 238, "name": "Venezuela", "code": "VEN"}, {"id": 84, "name": "Vietnam", "code": "VNM"}, {"id": 355, "name": "World", "code": "OWID_WRL"}, {"id": 61, "name": "Yemen", "code": "YEM"}, {"id": 60, "name": "Zambia", "code": "ZMB"}, {"id": 80, "name": "Zimbabwe", "code": "ZWE"}]}}, "origins": [{"id": 13634, "title": "World Development Indicators", "description": "The World Development Indicators (WDI) database, published by the World Bank, is a comprehensive collection of global development data, providing key economic, social, and environmental statistics. It includes over 1,500 indicators covering more than 200 countries and territories, with data spanning several decades.WDI serves as a vital resource for policymakers, researchers, businesses, and analysts seeking to understand global trends and make data-driven decisions. The database covers a wide range of topics, including economic growth, education, health, poverty, trade, energy, infrastructure, governance, and environmental sustainability.The indicators are sourced from reputable national and international agencies, ensuring high-quality, consistent, and comparable data. Users can access the database through interactive online tools, API services, and downloadable datasets, facilitating detailed analysis and visualization.WDI is also used for tracking progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other global development initiatives. By providing accessible and reliable statistics, it helps to inform policy discussions and strategies globally.Whether for academic research, policy planning, or economic analysis, the World Development Indicators database is an essential tool for understanding and addressing global development challenges.", "producer": "Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank", "citationFull": "State of the World's Children, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF);\nChildinfo, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF);\nDemographic and Health Surveys, DHS Program (ICF). Indicator SH.STA.BFED.ZS (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.BFED.ZS). World Development Indicators - World Bank (2026). Accessed on 2026-02-27.", "versionProducer": "125", "urlMain": "https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.BFED.ZS", "urlDownload": "https://databankfiles.worldbank.org/public/ddpext_download/WDI_CSV.zip", "dateAccessed": "2026-02-27", "datePublished": "2026-01-28", "license": {"url": "https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/search/dataset/0037712/World-Development-Indicators", "name": "CC BY 4.0"}}]}