Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Colombia
Colombia: Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese was 28.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Colombia, 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 Colombia stood at 28.7%. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.1% on the previous year and up 39.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Colombia peaked at 28.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.7%, in 1980.
That places Colombia 84th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 | 8.6% | 7.7% | 9.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.3% | 9.9% | 12.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.9% | 13.0% | 17.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.1% | 17.8% | 24.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.1% | 25.4% | 28.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Colombia
More health data for Colombia
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,505 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 698 deaths (2100)
- Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 101 deaths (2026)
- Deaths in armed conflicts by region 101 deaths (2026)
- Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 453,199 (2025)
- Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 447,234 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 446,682 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 439,167 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 441,652 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 432,518 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Colombia?
- Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Colombia was 28.7% 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 Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 28.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.7% in 1980.
- How does Colombia rank for share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese?
- Colombia ranks 84th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 39.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Colombia 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.