Iodine deficiency can lead to a variety of health and developmental consequences known as iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs). Iodine deficiency is a major cause of preventable mental retardation. It is especially damaging during pregnancy and in early childhood. In their most severe forms, IDDs can lead to cretinism, stillbirth and miscarriage; even mild deficiency can cause a significant loss of learning ability.  Thus, it is crucially important that pregnant women and young children in particular get adequate levels of iodine.
IDD can easily be prevented at low cost, however, with small quantities of iodine. One of the best and least expensive methods of preventing iodine deficiency disorder is by simply iodizing table salt, which is currently done in many countries. It represents one of the easiest and most cost-effective interventions for social and economic development.
Consumption of iodized salt (% of households)
Percentage of households which have salt they used for cooking that tested positive (>0ppm) for presence of iodine.
Most of the data on consumption of iodized salt are derived from household surveys. For the data that are from household surveys, the year refers to the survey year.