Prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, BMI > +2 in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG)

Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG): Prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, BMI > +2 was 15.71 in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
15.71
Change on year
up 3.7%
Rank
20th
of 156 groups
All-time high
15.71
in 2022
All-time low
6.27
in 2000
Years of data
23
2000–2022

Prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, BMI > +2 in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG), 2000–2022

0510152000201120222000: 6.32001: 6.62002: 6.92003: 7.22004: 7.62005: 82006: 8.32007: 8.72008: 9.12009: 9.52010: 9.92011: 10.32012: 10.72013: 11.22014: 11.62015: 12.12016: 12.62017: 13.12018: 13.52019: 14.12020: 14.62021: 15.22022: 15.7

Source: UNICEF.

Analysis

In 2022, prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, bmi > +2 in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG) stood at 15.71. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.

The figure is up 3.7% on the previous year and up 46.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, bmi > +2 in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG) peaked at 15.71 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 6.27, in 2000.

Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG) ranks 20th of 156 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, BMI > +2 in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG), year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, BMI > +2 standard deviations above the median (Crude estimate) in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG), 2000 to 2022.
Year Value Change
2000 6.27
2001 6.59 +5.1%
2002 6.88 +4.3%
2003 7.22 +5.1%
2004 7.59 +5.0%
2005 7.96 +4.9%
2006 8.33 +4.7%
2007 8.71 +4.6%
2008 9.11 +4.6%
2009 9.51 +4.4%
2010 9.91 +4.3%
2011 10.31 +4.0%
2012 10.74 +4.2%
2013 11.18 +4.1%
2014 11.62 +3.9%
2015 12.09 +4.0%
2016 12.55 +3.8%
2017 13.06 +4.1%
2018 13.54 +3.7%
2019 14.08 +4.0%
2020 14.62 +3.9%
2021 15.16 +3.6%
2022 15.71 +3.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 7.82 6.27 9.51 10
2010s 11.91 9.91 14.08 10
2020s 15.16 14.62 15.71 3

Countries ranked near Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG)

  1. 17 United Arab Emirates 21.4 compare
  2. 18 Kuwait 21.23 compare
  3. 19 United States 20.6 compare
  4. 20 Micronesia (country) 20.48 compare
  5. 21 Egypt 20.42 compare
  6. 22 Argentina 20.27 compare
  7. 23 Bahrain 20.14 compare

See the full ranking of 349 places →

More health data for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG)

All data for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG) →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, bmi > +2 in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG)?
Prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, bmi > +2 in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG) was 15.71 in 2022, according to UNICEF.
What is the highest prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, bmi > +2 recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG)?
The highest recorded value was 15.71 in 2022.
What is the lowest prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, bmi > +2 recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG)?
The lowest recorded value was 6.27 in 2000.
How does Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG) rank for prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, bmi > +2?
Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG) ranks 20th out of 156 groups with data for 2022.
Is prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, bmi > +2 rising or falling in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG)?
Over the last ten years it is up 46.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG) data come from?
The figures come from UNICEF, published as part of Prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, BMI > +2 standard deviations above the median (Crude estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, BMI > +2 in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG). Statizoid, drawing on UNICEF. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-obesity-among-children-aged-5-19-years-bmi-2-standard-deviations-above-the/latin-america-and-the-caribbean-unsdg/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-obesity-among-children-aged-5-19-years-bmi-2-standard-deviations-above-the/latin-america-and-the-caribbean-unsdg/">Prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, BMI > +2 in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNSDG)</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of obesity among children aged 5-19 years, BMI > +2 standard deviations above the median (Crude estimate)
Source
UNICEF
Licence
UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
349 places, 9,957 data points, 1990–2022
Last refreshed