Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Malawi
Malawi: Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese was 5.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Malawi, 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 Malawi is 5.9%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and up 20.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Malawi peaked at 5.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.5%, in 1980.
That places Malawi 194th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 | 2.7% | 2.5% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.2% | 2.9% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.2% | 3.7% | 4.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.0% | 4.6% | 5.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.7% | 5.4% | 5.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More health data for Malawi
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 856.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 6,399 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 193,780 (2025)
- Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 198,476 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 200,046 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 204,753 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 207,829 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 212,512 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Malawi?
- Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Malawi was 5.9% 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 5.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.5% in 1980.
- How does Malawi rank for share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese?
- Malawi ranks 194th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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.