Prevalence of overweight, female in Zambia
Zambia: Prevalence of overweight, female was 38.5% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight, female in Zambia, 1990–2022
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/). Measured in % of female adults.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 38.5% for prevalence of overweight, female in 2022. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.7% on the previous year and up 32.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, female in Zambia peaked at 38.5% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 15.5%, in 1990.
Zambia ranks 157th 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 Zambia, year by year
| Year | % of female adults | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 15.5% | — |
| 1991 | 15.8% | +2.2% |
| 1992 | 16.2% | +2.2% |
| 1993 | 16.5% | +2.2% |
| 1994 | 16.9% | +2.2% |
| 1995 | 17.3% | +2.4% |
| 1996 | 17.7% | +2.4% |
| 1997 | 18.2% | +2.7% |
| 1998 | 18.7% | +2.8% |
| 1999 | 19.2% | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 19.8% | +3.1% |
| 2001 | 20.5% | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 21.1% | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 21.8% | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 22.6% | +3.4% |
| 2005 | 23.4% | +3.4% |
| 2006 | 24.1% | +3.4% |
| 2007 | 24.9% | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 25.7% | +3.2% |
| 2009 | 26.6% | +3.1% |
| 2010 | 27.4% | +3.1% |
| 2011 | 28.2% | +3.0% |
| 2012 | 29.1% | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 29.9% | +3.0% |
| 2014 | 30.8% | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 31.7% | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 32.6% | +2.9% |
| 2017 | 33.6% | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 34.5% | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 35.5% | +2.8% |
| 2020 | 36.5% | +2.8% |
| 2021 | 37.5% | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 38.5% | +2.7% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 38.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 48.9%, 79% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 38.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 40.3%, 96% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 17.2% | 15.5% | 19.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 23.1% | 19.8% | 26.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.3% | 27.4% | 35.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.5% | 36.5% | 38.5% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 154 Cote d'Ivoire 39.6% compare
- 155 Netherlands 39.5% compare
- 156 Andorra 39.2% compare
- 158 Haiti 38.4% compare
- 159 Djibouti 37.9% compare
- 160 Philippines 37.8% compare
More health data for Zambia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.09 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7971 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 809.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 8,894 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.68 % 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 0.0743 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.69 % 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 Zambia?
- Prevalence of overweight, female in Zambia was 38.5% 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 38.5% in 2022.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, female recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.5% in 1990.
- How does Zambia rank for prevalence of overweight, female?
- Zambia ranks 157th out of 196 countries with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of overweight, female rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.