Prevalence of overweight, female in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Prevalence of overweight, female was 37.3% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight, female in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1990–2022
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/). Measured in % of female adults.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 37.3% for prevalence of overweight, female in 2022. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and up 21.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, female in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 37.3% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 16.4%, in 1990.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 32nd 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 Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % of female adults | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 16.4% | — |
| 1991 | 16.9% | +3.1% |
| 1992 | 17.5% | +3.1% |
| 1993 | 18.0% | +2.9% |
| 1994 | 18.5% | +3.1% |
| 1995 | 19.2% | +3.4% |
| 1996 | 19.8% | +3.5% |
| 1997 | 20.5% | +3.5% |
| 1998 | 21.2% | +3.2% |
| 1999 | 21.9% | +3.2% |
| 2000 | 22.6% | +3.2% |
| 2001 | 23.3% | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 24.1% | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 24.8% | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 25.5% | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 26.3% | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 27.0% | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 27.6% | +2.5% |
| 2008 | 28.3% | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 28.9% | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 29.5% | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 30.1% | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 30.7% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 31.3% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 31.9% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 32.5% | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 33.2% | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 33.8% | +1.9% |
| 2018 | 34.5% | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 35.2% | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 35.9% | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 36.6% | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 37.3% | +1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19.0% | 16.4% | 21.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 25.8% | 22.6% | 28.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.3% | 29.5% | 35.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 36.6% | 35.9% | 37.3% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More health data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Population ages 15-64, male, annual growth rate 3.04 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total, per capita 0.4038 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female, annual growth rate 2.96 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female, per capita 0.2837 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, male, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, total, annual growth rate 3 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, male, per capita 0.2801 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight, female in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Prevalence of overweight, female in Sub-Saharan Africa was 37.3% 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 37.3% in 2022.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, female recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.4% in 1990.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for prevalence of overweight, female?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 32nd out of 43 groups with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of overweight, female rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa 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.