Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Belgium
Belgium: Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese was 21.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Belgium, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Belgium stood at 21.1%.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Belgium peaked at 21.1% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 12.7%, in 1980.
Belgium ranks 122nd of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 14.3% | 12.7% | 16.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.1% | 16.5% | 19.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.6% | 19.8% | 20.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.0% | 21.0% | 21.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.1% | 21.1% | 21.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More health data for Belgium
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,160 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 59 deaths (2100)
- Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 0 deaths (2026)
- Deaths in armed conflicts by region 0 deaths (2026)
- Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 70,276 (2025)
- Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 67,671 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 70,043 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 67,217 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 68,927 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 65,945 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Belgium?
- Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Belgium was 21.1% in 2024, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 21.1% in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.7% in 1980.
- How does Belgium rank for share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese?
- Belgium ranks 122nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years old that are defined as either overweight or obese. This means their weight-for-height is more than one standard deviations from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards.