Breastfeeding

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Breastfeeding statistics

Afghanistan

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Factors influencing early initiation of breastfeeding in Afghanistan: secondary analysis of the Afghanistan MICS 2022-23 [2025]

Argentina

• Archivos argentinos de pediatría
  • Prevalence of breastfeeding in the public health sector of Argentina according to the National Survey on Breastfeeding of 2017 [2022]

Australia

• Australian Bureau of Statistics
  • Breastfeeding

Austria

• Nutrients
  • Breastfeeding Prevalence in Austria according to the WHO IYCF Indicators—The SUKIE-Study [2021]

Bangladesh

• Frontiers in Public Health
  • The trend in exclusive breastfeeding practice and its association with maternal employment in Bangladesh: A multilevel analysis [2022]

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Gender inequality in early initiation of breastfeeding in Bangladesh: a trend analysis [2020]

• International Health
  • Prevalence of and factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding in Bangladesh: a multilevel modelling [2023]

• Nutrients
  • Breastfeeding Practices among Adolescent Mothers and Associated Factors in Bangladesh (2004–2014) [2021]

• PLoS ONE
  • How is maternal employment associated with infant and young child feeding in Bangladesh? A systematic literature review and meta-analysis [2025]
  • Prevalence and factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding among Bangladeshi mothers: A nationwide cross-sectional study [2019]
  • Prevalence and determinants of initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of birth: An analysis of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2014 [2019]

• Scientific Reports
  • Trends in early initiation of breastfeeding in Bangladesh and a multilevel analysis approach to find its determinants [2021]

Belgium

• BioMed Research International
  • Breastfeeding Duration: A Survival Analysis—Data from a Regional Immunization Survey [2014]

Brazil

• BMJ Global Health
  • Trends of breastfeeding indicators in Brazil from 1996 to 2019 and the gaps to achieve the WHO/UNICEF 2030 targets [2023]

• Revista de Saúde Pública
  • Breastfeeding indicators trends in Brazil for three decades [2017]

Cambodia

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Association between place of birth and timely breastfeeding initiation among Cambodian women: a population-based study [2022]

Canada

• Public Health Agency of Canada
  • Rates of and factors associated with exclusive and any breastfeeding at six months in Canada: an analysis of population-based cross-sectional data [2023]
  • Canada's breastfeeding dashboard

• Statistics Canada
  • Overwhelming majority of Canadian women start breastfeeding soon after giving birth, and more than half stop within six months

Chad

• International Health
  • Maternal and child factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding in Chad: evidence from nationally representative cross-sectional data [2022]

China

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Current prevalence, changes, and determinants of breastfeeding practice in China: data from cross-sectional national household health services surveys in 2013 and 2018 [2023]
  • Breastfeeding in China: a review [2009]

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Breastfeeding in China: A Review of Changes in the Past Decade [2020]

• Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine
  • Prevalence and risk factors of delayed onset lactogenesis II in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2023]

• Maternal & Child Nutrition
  • What are the determinants of low exclusive breastfeeding prevalence in China? A cross-sectional study [2022]

Ethiopia

• BioMed Research International
  • Trends of Inequalities in Early Initiation of Breastfeeding in Ethiopia: Evidence from Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys, 2000-2016 [2022]

• BMC Public Health
  • Prevalence and contributing factors of early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2025]
  • Trends and disparities in ever-breastfeeding practice and early breastfeeding initiation in Ethiopia: a 20-year trend analysis from EDHS datasets [2024]

• BMJ Open
  • Prevalence, spatial variation and associated factors of mixed milk feeding among mothers with infants aged 0-6 months in Ethiopia: a spatial and multilevel analysis [2024]

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding practice and its association with maternal employment in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2021]
  • Trends and factors associated to early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding and duration of breastfeeding in Ethiopia: evidence from the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2016 [2020]
  • Trends and determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding in Ethiopia from 2000 to 2016 [2019]

• Italian Journal of Pediatrics
  • Trends and determinants of breastfeeding within one hour in Ethiopia, further analysis of Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey: multivariate decomposition analysis [2021]

• Maternal & Child Nutrition
  • Infant Feeding Practices in Ethiopia: Birth Cohort Study in Five Regions [2025]

• PLoS ONE
  • Prevalence of ineffective breastfeeding techniques and its associated factors among breastfeeding mothers in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis [2024]
  • Effective breastfeeding techniques and associated factors among lactating women in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis [2024]
  • Exploring the determinants of exclusive breastfeeding among infants under-six months in Ethiopia using multilevel analysis [2021]

Europe

• WHO European Region
  • Child and adolescent health in the WHO European Region: breastfeeding fact sheet [2024]

France

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Trends in breastfeeding practices and mothers’ experience in the French NutriNet-Santé cohort [2021]

• Maternal & Child Nutrition
  • Trends and disparities in breastfeeding initiation in France between 2010 and 2016: Results from the French National Perinatal Surveys [2022]

Gambia

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Exploring the determinants of exclusive breastfeeding among infants under six months in the Gambia using gambian demographic and health survey data of 2019-20 [2023]

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding in The Gambia: a population-based study using the 2019-2020 demographic and health survey data [2023]

Georgia

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge: a study using data from the Georgian Birth Registry [2020]

Ghana

• BMC Public Health
  • Systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence and determinants of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life in Ghana [2023]

• BMJ Open
  • Time trends in the prevalence and determinants of age-appropriate breast feeding among children aged 0-23 months in Ghana: a pooled analysis of population-based surveys, 2003-2017 [2022]

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Prevalence and predictors of timely initiation of breastfeeding in Ghana: an analysis of 2017–2018 multiple indicator cluster survey [2021]

High-income countries

• Maternal & Child Nutrition
  • Monitoring breastfeeding indicators in high-income countries: Levels, trends and challenges [2021]

India

• BMC Public Health
  • National and rural-urban prevalence and determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding in India [2019]

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Decadal trends in the exclusive breastfeeding practices among working Indian mothers: a multi-level analysis [2024]
  • Intersectional inequalities in exclusive breastfeeding practices in India: analysis of national family health survey-4 [2023]
  • Factors associated with delayed initiation and non-exclusive breastfeeding among children in India: evidence from national family health survey 2019-21 [2023]
  • Exclusive breastfeeding practices and its determinants in Indian infants: findings from the National Family Health Surveys-4 and 5 [2023]
  • Regional prevalence and determinants of exclusive breastfeeding in India [2019]
  • Changes in exclusive breastfeeding practices and its determinants in India, 1992–2006: analysis of national survey data [2015]

• Journal of Global Health
  • Prevalence, trend, and inequality of prolonged exclusive breastfeeding among children aged 6-23 months old in India from 1992-2021: A cross-sectional study of nationally representative, individual-level data [2024]

Indonesia

• BMC Public Health
  • Progress towards reducing sociodemographic disparities in breastfeeding outcomes in Indonesia: a trend analysis from 2002 to 2017 [2020]

• BPS-Statistics Indonesia
  • Percentage of Infants Aged 0-5 Months Receiving Exclusive Breastfeeding by Province

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene
  • Birth Patterns and Delayed Breastfeeding Initiation in Indonesia [2020]

• PLoS ONE
  • Trends and determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding in Indonesia: A multivariate decomposition analysis [2023]

International

• BMC Public Health
  • Measuring breastfeeding prevalence using demographic and health surveys [2024]

• Heliyon
  • Early initiation of breastfeeding up to six months among mothers after cesarean section or vaginal birth: A scoping review [2023]

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Incidence and factors influencing delayed onset of lactation: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2024]

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Breastfeeding after Returning to Work: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [2021]

• Journal of Human Lactation
  • Breastfeeding Measurement - Considerations When Measuring Exclusive Breastfeeding [2025]

• Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health
  • An Integrative Review of Exclusive Breast Milk Expression [2025]

• Maternal & Child Nutrition
  • Complex intertwined association between breastfeeding practices and household food insecurity: Systematic review and meta-analysis [2024]
  • Exclusive breastfeeding: Measurement to match the global recommendation [2022]

• Nutrients
  • Trend and Burden of Suboptimal Breastfeeding in Children Under Five Years of Age in 1990-2021: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 [2025]

• United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF
  • Global breastfeeding scorecard 2023 [2023]
  • Breastfeeding A Mother'S Gift, for Every Child [2018]
  • Breastfeeding

Iran

• BMC Pediatrics
  • Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding practice in the first six months of life and its determinants in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2019]

Ireland

• Health Information and Quality Authority
  • Women's experiences of initiating feeding shortly after birth in Ireland: A secondary analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from the National Maternity Experience Survey [2022]

• Maternal & Child Nutrition
  • A repeated cross-sectional analysis of breastfeeding initiation rates in Ireland for two decades and 10 recommended priorities for improvement [2023]

Israel

• Israel Journal of Health Policy Research
  • Breastfeeding rates in Israel and their health policy implications [2025]

Italy

• Annali dell'Istituto Superiore di Sanità
  • Monitoring prevalence of breastfeeding and associated factors: results of the 2022 data collection of the Italian surveillance of children aged 0-2 years [2025]

Ivory Coast

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding of children under six months of age in Cote d'Ivoire [2023]

Japan

• Scientific Reports
  • Factors influencing exclusive breastfeeding rates until 6 months postpartum: the Japan Environment and Children’s Study [2021]

Laos

• Public Health Nutrition
  • How do the determinants of exclusive breast-feeding change over time? A multi-survey quasi-longitudinal study in Lao People's Democratic Republic [2022]

Low and middle income countries

• Global Health: Science and Practice
  • Initiation of Breastfeeding in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Time-to-Event Analysis [2021]

• International Journal for Equity in Health
  • Maternal education and equity in breastfeeding: trends and patterns in 81 low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2019 [2021]

Mauritania

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding and its associated factors among women in Mauritania: evidence from a national survey [2024]

Mozambique

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Individual- and community-level factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding in Mozambique: evidence from the 2022-2023 Demographic and Health Survey [2024]

Namibia

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Trends and factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding in Namibia: analysis of the Demographic and Health Surveys 2000–2013 [2018]

Nepal

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Implications of methodological differences in measuring the rates of exclusive breastfeeding in Nepal: findings from literature review and cohort study [2016]

• BMC Public Health
  • Determinants of exclusive breastfeeding among infants under six months in Nepal: multilevel analysis of nationally representative household survey data [2024]
  • Exclusive breastfeeding practices in relation to social and health determinants: a comparison of the 2006 and 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys [2013]

• Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare
  • The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding practice in the first six months of life and its associated factors in Nepal: A systematic review and meta-analysis [2023]

Nigeria

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding in Nigeria: a population-based study using the 2013 demograhic and health survey data [2016]

• BMJ Global Health
  • Time trends and determinants of breastfeeding practices among adolescents and young women in Nigeria, 2003–2018 [2020]

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Rural-urban differences on the rates and factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding in Nigeria: further analysis of the Nigeria demographic and health survey, 2013 [2017]

Norway

• British Journal of Nutrition
  • Secular trends in infant feeding practices during the first year of life in Norway: findings from 1998 to 2019 - the Spedkost surveys [2024]

OECD countries

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Historical-qualitative analysis of breastfeeding trends in three OECD countries [2019]

Papua New Guinea

• Archives of Public Health
  • Determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding in Papua New Guinea: a population-based study using the 2016-2018 demographic and health survey data [2020]

Peru

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Factors Associated with Adequate Breastfeeding: Evidence from the Peruvian Demographic and Health Survey, 2019 [2022]

Republic of Korea

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Trends and Determinants in Breastfeeding among Korean Women: A Nationwide Population-Based Study [2021]

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
  • The Current Status of Prolonged Breastfeeding and Its Related Factors in Korean Infants and Their Mothers: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study [2023]
  • Trends of Breastfeeding Rate in Korea (1994-2012): Comparison with OECD and Other Countries [2013]

Saudi Arabia

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Breastfeeding in Saudi Arabia: a review [2014]

Sierra Leone

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Exclusive breastfeeding and its associated factors among children aged 0-5 months in Sierra Leone: a multilevel analysis [2025]

South Asia

• Maternal & Child Nutrition
  • Trends and predictors of optimal breastfeeding among children 0–23 months, South Asia: Analysis of national survey data [2018]

Southern Africa, Western Europe

• Nutrients
  • Maternal Socioeconomic Status and the Initiation and Duration of Breastfeeding in Western Europe Versus Southern Africa: A Systematic Review-A Contribution from the ConcePTION Project [2025]

Sub-Saharan Africa

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Antenatal care and breastfeeding practices in Sub-Saharan Africa: an analysis of demographic and health surveys [2025]

• BMC Public Health
  • Factors influencing exclusive breastfeeding in Sub-Saharan Africa: analysis of demographic and health surveys [2025]

• BMJ Open
  • Prevalence of key breastfeeding indicators in 29 sub-Saharan African countries: a meta-analysis of demographic and health surveys (2010–2015) [2017]

• Italian Journal of Pediatrics
  • Determinants of prolonged exclusive breastfeeding among children aged 6-23 months in 21 sub-saharan African countries: evidence from nationally representative data [2025]

• Journal of Global Health
  • Is childbirth location associated with higher rates of favourable early breastfeeding practices in Sub-Saharan Africa? [2019]

• PLoS ONE
  • Timely initiation of breastfeeding and associated factors among mothers having children less than two years of age in sub-Saharan Africa: A multilevel analysis using recent Demographic and Health Surveys data [2021]

Sweden

• BMJ Open
  • Changes in the prevalence of breast feeding in preterm infants discharged from neonatal units: a register study over 10 years [2016]

• National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen)
  • Statistics on breastfeeding 2021 [2023]

Tanzania

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Trends of Exclusive Breastfeeding Practices and Its Determinants in Tanzania from 1999 to 2016 [2023]

Uganda

• BMC Public Health
  • Prevalence, patterns, and determinants of breastfeeding cessation among mothers of children under 24 months in Uganda [2024]

United Arab Emirates

• International Breastfeeding Journal
  • Infant and young child feeding practice status and its determinants in UAE: results from the MISC cohort [2025]
  • A systematic review and meta-analysis of breastfeeding rates, factors influencing breastfeeding and practices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) [2025]

United Kingdom

• European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
  • Trends and inequalities in breastfeeding continuation from 1 to 6 weeks: findings from six population-based British cohorts, 1985-2010 [2022]

• Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
  • Breastfeeding statistics

• PLoS ONE
  • Twenty-five-year trends in breastfeeding initiation: The effects of sociodemographic changes in Great Britain, 1985-2010 [2019]

• Public Health Scotland
  • Infant feeding statistics

• Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
  • Breastfeeding

• Welsh Government
  • Breastfeeding data

United States

• BMC Public Health
  • Race/ethnicity-specific associations between breastfeeding information source and breastfeeding rates among U.S. women [2023]

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Breastfeeding Initiation - United States, 2019 [2021]
  • Racial Disparities in Breastfeeding Initiation and Duration Among U.S. Infants Born in 2015 [2019]
  • Racial and Geographic Differences in Breastfeeding — United States, 2011–2015 [2017]
  • Breastfeeding Data

• JAMA Network Open
  • Prevalence of Exclusive Breastfeeding Among US Children [2024]

• JAMA Pediatrics
  • Breastfeeding Trends by Race/Ethnicity Among US Children Born From 2009 to 2015 [2019]

• Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics
  • Human milk expression in the first year postpartum among persons with low incomes [2023]

• Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
  • Breastfeeding Initiation Trends by Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Participation and Race/Ethnicity Among Medicaid Births [2023]
  • Trends in Breastfeeding Disparities in U.S. Infants by WIC Eligibility and Participation [2019]

• Pediatrics
  • Prevalence and Predictors of Breastfeeding Duration of 24 or More Months [2023]

Vietnam

• Global Health Action
  • Trends and determinants for early initiation of and exclusive breastfeeding under six months in Vietnam: results from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, 2000–2011 [2016]

West Africa

• Maternal & Child Nutrition
  • Early Initiation of Breastfeeding and Exclusive Breastfeeding in Anglophone and Francophone West African Countries: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prevalence [2025]

• PLoS ONE
  • Determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding following birth in West Africa: A multilevel analysis using data from multi-country national health surveys [2024]

WHO

• World Health Organization
  • Indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices: definitions and measurement methods [2021]
  • Indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices. Part III: Country profiles [2010]
  • Indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices. Part II: Measurement [2010]
  • Indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices. Part I: Definition [2008]
  • Exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months (%)

{Related topics}

• Topic
  • Breastfeeding