Anemia is a widespread nutritional concern globally, especially for children and menstruating, pregnant and lactating people of reproductive age. It is most commonly caused by insufficient iron intake or absorption and blood loss.
Red meat, organ meats and some types of fish are good sources of heme iron, the most easily absorbed form of iron. Plant foods high in iron, including pulses, leafy greens and enriched grains, contain non-heme iron which is less well absorbed. Although well-balanced and carefully managed plant-based diets can provide adequate iron, diets based primarily on starchy staples — common in low-income populations with limited access to a diversity of foods — can lead to micronutrient deficiencies, including iron-deficiency anemia.
This indicator is useful to track alongside efforts to moderate consumption of ruminant meats in high-consuming regions. Together, these efforts can reduce the risk for diet-related diseases among high-consuming populations while providing the climate and biodiversity “space” to increase consumption in under-consuming populations and help address nutritional deficiencies such as anemia.
Despite promising reductions in the share of women and other menstruating people with anemia from 2000 to 2013, this rate began moving in the wrong direction in 2014. The global prevalence of anemia among women and other menstruating people continued to slowly increase from 29% in 2019 to 31% in 2023, moving further away from the target of 0% by 2030. Prevalence in 2023 was highest in Southern Asia (49%), Western Africa (42%) and Middle Africa (42%).