North Korea vs South Korea: Prevalence of overweight
North Korea
37.0%
in 2022
South Korea
35.9%
in 2022
North Korea rank
150th
South Korea rank
153rd
Prevalence of overweight over time
- North Korea
- South Korea
How they compare
North Korea currently reports 37.0% against 35.9% in South Korea, a difference of 1.1%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 33 shared years of data; in 1990 it was South Korea ahead.
North Korea ranks 150th and South Korea ranks 153rd of 196 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, North Korea averaged higher in 1 and South Korea in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | North Korea | South Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 14.7% | 24.7% | 10.0% | South Korea |
| 2000s | 21.1% | 28.9% | 7.8% | South Korea |
| 2010s | 29.5% | 32.2% | 2.6% | South Korea |
| 2020s | 36.0% | 35.3% | 0.6% | North Korea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher prevalence of overweight, North Korea or South Korea?
- North Korea, at 37.0% against 35.9% in South Korea as of 2022.
- What is the difference in prevalence of overweight between North Korea and South Korea?
- 1.1%, with North Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for North Korea and South Korea?
- 33 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2022.
- How do North Korea and South Korea rank globally for prevalence of overweight?
- North Korea ranks 150th and South Korea ranks 153rd of 196 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/), published as Prevalence of overweight (% of adults). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Prevalence of overweight adults is the percentage of adults ages 18 and over whose Body Mass Index (BMI) is more than 25 kg/m2. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height, or the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters.