Overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Australia
Australia: Overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) was 26.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
26.4%
Change on year
up 4.3%
World rank
1st
of 162 countries
All-time high
26.4%
in 2024
All-time low
7.3%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024
Overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Australia, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
Analysis
Australia recorded 26.4% for overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.3% on the previous year and up 72.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Australia peaked at 26.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.3%, in 2000.
That places Australia 1st out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.3% | — |
| 2001 | 7.5% | +2.7% |
| 2002 | 7.8% | +4.0% |
| 2003 | 8.2% | +5.1% |
| 2004 | 8.6% | +4.9% |
| 2005 | 9.0% | +4.7% |
| 2006 | 9.5% | +5.6% |
| 2007 | 10.1% | +6.3% |
| 2008 | 10.6% | +5.0% |
| 2009 | 11.3% | +6.6% |
| 2010 | 12.0% | +6.2% |
| 2011 | 12.7% | +5.8% |
| 2012 | 13.5% | +6.3% |
| 2013 | 14.4% | +6.7% |
| 2014 | 15.3% | +6.3% |
| 2015 | 16.3% | +6.5% |
| 2016 | 17.3% | +6.1% |
| 2017 | 18.4% | +6.4% |
| 2018 | 19.5% | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 20.7% | +6.2% |
| 2020 | 21.8% | +5.3% |
| 2021 | 23.0% | +5.5% |
| 2022 | 24.2% | +5.2% |
| 2023 | 25.3% | +4.5% |
| 2024 | 26.4% | +4.3% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 26.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.6%, 3.1× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Australia's 26.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.5%, 4.8× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.0% | 7.3% | 11.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.0% | 12.0% | 20.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.1% | 21.8% | 26.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 2 Papua New Guinea 18.5% compare
- 3 Turks and Caicos Islands 18.3% compare
- 4 Tunisia 17.5% compare
More health data for Australia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.83 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.9072 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 906.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 215 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2021)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.45 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0279 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.35 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Australia?
- Overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Australia was 26.4% in 2024, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
- What is the highest overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 26.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.3% in 2000.
- How does Australia rank for overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%)?
- Australia ranks 1st out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 72.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory, published as part of Overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (% weight-for-height >+2 SD), model-based estimates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO).