Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Kenya
Kenya: Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese was 13.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Kenya, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Kenya is 13.2%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 5.2% on the previous year and up 63.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Kenya peaked at 13.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 1980.
Kenya ranks 158th of 199 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 3.1% | 2.9% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.0% | 3.5% | 4.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.7% | 4.8% | 6.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.4% | 6.9% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.0% | 10.8% | 13.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More health data for Kenya
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,119 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 16,059 deaths (2100)
- Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 3 deaths (2026)
- Deaths in armed conflicts by region 3 deaths (2026)
- Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 504,714 (2025)
- Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 527,528 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 526,588 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 546,326 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 548,338 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 564,731 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Kenya?
- Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Kenya was 13.2% 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 13.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 1980.
- How does Kenya rank for share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese?
- Kenya ranks 158th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 63.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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.