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Data

Mean lead concentrations in the blood of children

About this data

Source
Ericson et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
January 1, 2021
Date range
2019–2019
Unit
µg/dL

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

Ericson et al. – Blood lead levels in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Ericson et al. (2021) collated studies measuring lead blood concentrations in children and adults between 2010 and 2019. This analysis yielded 520 studies covering 1100 sampled populations with a total population of 1,003,455 people from 49 countries.

Children are defined as those aged 0 to 14 years.

Blood level concentrations are measured in µg/dL. There is no defined "safe" level for lead blood concentrations. The WHO adopts a threshold of 5 µg/dL as an achievable maximum level in children.

Retrieved on
January 1, 2021
Retrieved from
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196%2820%2930278-3/fulltext
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
Ericson, B., Hu, H., Nash, E., Ferraro, G., Sinitsky, J., & Taylor, M. P. (2021). Blood lead levels in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(3), e145-e153.

Ericson et al. (2021) collated studies measuring lead blood concentrations in children and adults between 2010 and 2019. This analysis yielded 520 studies covering 1100 sampled populations with a total population of 1,003,455 people from 49 countries.

Children are defined as those aged 0 to 14 years.

Blood level concentrations are measured in µg/dL. There is no defined "safe" level for lead blood concentrations. The WHO adopts a threshold of 5 µg/dL as an achievable maximum level in children.

Retrieved on
January 1, 2021
Retrieved from
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196%2820%2930278-3/fulltext
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
Ericson, B., Hu, H., Nash, E., Ferraro, G., Sinitsky, J., & Taylor, M. P. (2021). Blood lead levels in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(3), e145-e153.

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Mean lead concentrations in the blood of children”. Our World in Data (2026). Data adapted from Ericson et al.. Retrieved from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260518-093348/grapher/lead-concentrations-blood-children.html [online resource] (archived on May 18, 2026).

How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

Ericson et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

Ericson et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data. “Mean lead concentrations in the blood of children” [dataset]. Ericson et al., “Blood lead levels in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review” [original data]. Retrieved May 18, 2026 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260518-093348/grapher/lead-concentrations-blood-children.html (archived on May 18, 2026).

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