Overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Europe (WHO region)
Europe (WHO region): Overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) was 7.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
7.5%
Change on year
up 2.7%
Rank
5th
of 13 groups
All-time high
9.6%
in 2004
All-time low
7.1%
in 2020
Years of data
35
1990–2024
Overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Europe (WHO region), 1990–2024
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
Analysis
The most recent figure for overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Europe (WHO region) is 7.5%, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 2.7% on the previous year and down 7.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Europe (WHO region) peaked at 9.6% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 7.1%, in 2020.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Europe (WHO region), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 7.8% | — |
| 1991 | 7.8% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 7.8% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 7.8% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 7.9% | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 8.0% | +1.3% |
| 1996 | 8.1% | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 8.3% | +2.5% |
| 1998 | 8.5% | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 8.7% | +2.4% |
| 2000 | 8.9% | +2.3% |
| 2001 | 9.1% | +2.2% |
| 2002 | 9.3% | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 9.4% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 9.6% | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 9.6% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 9.6% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 9.6% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 9.4% | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 9.3% | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 9.1% | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 8.8% | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 8.6% | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 8.3% | -3.5% |
| 2014 | 8.1% | -2.4% |
| 2015 | 7.9% | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 7.6% | -3.8% |
| 2017 | 7.4% | -2.6% |
| 2018 | 7.3% | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 7.2% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 7.1% | -1.4% |
| 2021 | 7.1% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 7.2% | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 7.3% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 7.5% | +2.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.1% | 7.8% | 8.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.4% | 8.9% | 9.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.0% | 7.2% | 9.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.2% | 7.1% | 7.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Europe (WHO region)
- 2 Papua New Guinea 18.5% compare
- 3 Turks and Caicos Islands 18.3% compare
- 4 Tunisia 17.5% compare
- 5 Albania 16.7% compare
- 6 Ukraine 16.0% compare
- 7 Paraguay 15.4% compare
- 8 Trinidad and Tobago 15.0% compare
More health data for Europe (WHO region)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, gaps filled 199 (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases, gaps filled 38,686 (2025)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 85 (2025)
- Pertussis - number of reported cases, gaps filled 52,021 (2025)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Number of under-five deaths, annual growth rate -8.58 % change on previous year (2024)
- Number of neonatal deaths, annual growth rate -3.27 % change on previous year (2024)
- Number of infant deaths, annual growth rate -5.46 % change on previous year (2024)
- Measles - number of reported cases, annual growth rate -74.39 % change on previous year (2025)
- Pertussis - number of reported cases, annual growth rate -82.58 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Europe (WHO region)?
- Overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) in Europe (WHO region) was 7.5% 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 Europe (WHO region)?
- The highest recorded value was 9.6% in 2004.
- What is the lowest overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) recorded in Europe (WHO region)?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.1% in 2020.
- How does Europe (WHO region) rank for overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%)?
- Europe (WHO region) ranks 5th out of 13 groups with data for 2024.
- Is overweight prevalence among children under 5 years of age (%) rising or falling in Europe (WHO region)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Europe (WHO region) 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 — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO).