Prevalence of overweight, female in Malawi
Malawi: Prevalence of overweight, female was 32.3% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight, female in Malawi, 1990–2022
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/). Measured in % of female adults.
Analysis
In 2022, prevalence of overweight, female in Malawi stood at 32.3%. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 35.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, female in Malawi peaked at 32.3% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 10.2%, in 1990.
Malawi ranks 174th of 196 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight, female in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of female adults | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 10.2% | — |
| 1991 | 10.6% | +3.5% |
| 1992 | 11.0% | +3.5% |
| 1993 | 11.4% | +3.6% |
| 1994 | 11.8% | +3.6% |
| 1995 | 12.2% | +3.7% |
| 1996 | 12.7% | +3.8% |
| 1997 | 13.2% | +4.0% |
| 1998 | 13.7% | +4.1% |
| 1999 | 14.3% | +4.3% |
| 2000 | 14.9% | +4.3% |
| 2001 | 15.6% | +4.4% |
| 2002 | 16.3% | +4.4% |
| 2003 | 17.0% | +4.4% |
| 2004 | 17.7% | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 18.5% | +4.2% |
| 2006 | 19.2% | +4.1% |
| 2007 | 20.0% | +4.0% |
| 2008 | 20.8% | +3.8% |
| 2009 | 21.6% | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 22.3% | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 23.1% | +3.4% |
| 2012 | 23.9% | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 24.7% | +3.3% |
| 2014 | 25.5% | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 26.3% | +3.2% |
| 2016 | 27.1% | +3.1% |
| 2017 | 27.9% | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 28.8% | +3.0% |
| 2019 | 29.6% | +3.0% |
| 2020 | 30.5% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 31.4% | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 32.3% | +2.9% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 32.3% is above the median for low income countries, which is 32.2%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 32.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 40.3%, 80% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12.1% | 10.2% | 14.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.2% | 14.9% | 21.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.9% | 22.3% | 29.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 31.4% | 30.5% | 32.3% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More health data for Malawi
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.8368 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.9312 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 856.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 6,399 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.61 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0714 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.63 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight, female in Malawi?
- Prevalence of overweight, female in Malawi was 32.3% 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 32.3% in 2022.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, female recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.2% in 1990.
- How does Malawi rank for prevalence of overweight, female?
- Malawi ranks 174th out of 196 countries with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of overweight, female rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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.