Prevalence of overweight, female in Africa Western and Central
Africa Western and Central: Prevalence of overweight, female was 39.0% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight, female in Africa Western and Central, 1990–2022
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/). Measured in % of female adults.
Analysis
Africa Western and Central recorded 39.0% for prevalence of overweight, female in 2022. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and up 22.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, female in Africa Western and Central peaked at 39.0% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 14.3%, in 1990.
Africa Western and Central ranks 30th of 43 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight, female in Africa Western and Central, year by year
| Year | % of female adults | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 14.3% | — |
| 1991 | 14.9% | +4.7% |
| 1992 | 15.6% | +4.6% |
| 1993 | 16.4% | +4.6% |
| 1994 | 17.1% | +4.6% |
| 1995 | 17.9% | +4.5% |
| 1996 | 18.7% | +4.4% |
| 1997 | 19.5% | +4.5% |
| 1998 | 20.4% | +4.5% |
| 1999 | 21.3% | +4.4% |
| 2000 | 22.2% | +4.4% |
| 2001 | 23.2% | +4.2% |
| 2002 | 24.1% | +4.1% |
| 2003 | 25.0% | +3.8% |
| 2004 | 25.9% | +3.6% |
| 2005 | 26.8% | +3.4% |
| 2006 | 27.7% | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 28.5% | +3.0% |
| 2008 | 29.2% | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 30.0% | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 30.7% | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 31.3% | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 31.9% | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 32.6% | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 33.2% | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 33.9% | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 34.6% | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 35.3% | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 36.0% | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 36.7% | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 37.5% | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 38.2% | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 39.0% | +2.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 17.6% | 14.3% | 21.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 26.3% | 22.2% | 30.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.6% | 30.7% | 36.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 38.2% | 37.5% | 39.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Africa Western and Central
More health data for Africa Western and Central
- Population ages 35-39, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, annual growth rate 2.59 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, female, per capita 0.0237 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, female, annual growth rate 2.75 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, per capita 0.0278 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, annual growth rate 2.24 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, female, per capita 0.0277 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 30-34, female, annual growth rate 2.27 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight, female in Africa Western and Central?
- Prevalence of overweight, female in Africa Western and Central was 39.0% in 2022, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).
- What is the highest prevalence of overweight, female recorded in Africa Western and Central?
- The highest recorded value was 39.0% in 2022.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, female recorded in Africa Western and Central?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.3% in 1990.
- How does Africa Western and Central rank for prevalence of overweight, female?
- Africa Western and Central ranks 30th out of 43 groups with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of overweight, female rising or falling in Africa Western and Central?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Africa Western and Central data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/), published as part of Prevalence of overweight, female (% of female adults). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Prevalence of overweight female adults is the percentage of females ages 18 and over whose Body Mass Index (BMI) is more than 25 kg/m2. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height, or the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters.