Prevalence of overweight (% of adults) in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Prevalence of overweight (% of adults) was 48.6% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight in Afghanistan, 1990–2022
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/). Measured in % of adults.
Analysis
In 2022, prevalence of overweight in Afghanistan stood at 48.6%. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.4% on the previous year and up 48.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight in Afghanistan peaked at 48.6% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 10.1%, in 1990.
Afghanistan ranks 125th of 196 countries 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 (% of adults) in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | % of adults | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 10.1% | — |
| 1991 | 10.7% | +6.0% |
| 1992 | 11.4% | +5.9% |
| 1993 | 12.0% | +5.9% |
| 1994 | 12.7% | +5.8% |
| 1995 | 13.5% | +5.8% |
| 1996 | 14.3% | +5.9% |
| 1997 | 15.1% | +5.7% |
| 1998 | 16.0% | +5.8% |
| 1999 | 16.9% | +5.8% |
| 2000 | 17.9% | +5.7% |
| 2001 | 18.9% | +5.7% |
| 2002 | 19.9% | +5.6% |
| 2003 | 21.0% | +5.5% |
| 2004 | 22.1% | +5.4% |
| 2005 | 23.3% | +5.3% |
| 2006 | 24.6% | +5.2% |
| 2007 | 25.8% | +5.1% |
| 2008 | 27.1% | +5.0% |
| 2009 | 28.4% | +4.9% |
| 2010 | 29.8% | +4.8% |
| 2011 | 31.2% | +4.7% |
| 2012 | 32.7% | +4.6% |
| 2013 | 34.1% | +4.6% |
| 2014 | 35.7% | +4.5% |
| 2015 | 37.3% | +4.4% |
| 2016 | 38.9% | +4.3% |
| 2017 | 40.5% | +4.2% |
| 2018 | 42.1% | +4.0% |
| 2019 | 43.8% | +3.8% |
| 2020 | 45.4% | +3.7% |
| 2021 | 47.0% | +3.5% |
| 2022 | 48.6% | +3.4% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 48.6% is above the median for low income countries, which is 24.2%, 2.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 48.6% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 66.2%, 73% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 13.3% | 10.1% | 16.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.9% | 17.9% | 28.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 36.6% | 29.8% | 43.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.0% | 45.4% | 48.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More health data for Afghanistan
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.45 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.03 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 14,735 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 19 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.78 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.077 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.75 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0804 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight in Afghanistan?
- Prevalence of overweight in Afghanistan was 48.6% in 2022, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).
- What is the highest prevalence of overweight recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 48.6% in 2022.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.1% in 1990.
- How does Afghanistan rank for prevalence of overweight?
- Afghanistan ranks 125th out of 196 countries with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of overweight rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 48.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan 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 (% of 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 adults is the percentage of adults 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.