Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese was 29.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Papua New Guinea, 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 Papua New Guinea is 29.3%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
The figure is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 21.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Papua New Guinea peaked at 29.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 13.0%, in 1980.
That places Papua New Guinea 80th 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 | 13.8% | 13.0% | 14.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 16.3% | 15.0% | 17.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.9% | 18.1% | 21.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.4% | 22.3% | 26.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.2% | 27.2% | 29.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More health data for Papua New Guinea
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,127 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 2,501 deaths (2100)
- Deaths in armed conflicts by region 0 deaths (2026)
- Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 0 deaths (2026)
- Age population, age 08, male, interpolated 122,410 (2025)
- Population, male 51.4% (2025)
- Age population, age 06, female, interpolated 116,467 (2025)
- Age population, age 06, male, interpolated 124,703 (2025)
- Age population, age 07, female, interpolated 115,165 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female 3.33 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Papua New Guinea?
- Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese in Papua New Guinea was 29.3% 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 Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 29.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.0% in 1980.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 80th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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.