Prevalence of overweight in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Prevalence of overweight was 66.9% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight in Costa Rica, 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 Costa Rica stood at 66.9%. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 8.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight in Costa Rica peaked at 66.9% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 42.0%, in 1990.
Costa Rica ranks 39th of 196 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of adults | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 42.0% | — |
| 1991 | 43.1% | +2.6% |
| 1992 | 44.2% | +2.5% |
| 1993 | 45.3% | +2.4% |
| 1994 | 46.3% | +2.3% |
| 1995 | 47.4% | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 48.4% | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 49.5% | +2.1% |
| 1998 | 50.5% | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 51.5% | +1.9% |
| 2000 | 52.4% | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 53.3% | +1.7% |
| 2002 | 54.2% | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 55.0% | +1.5% |
| 2004 | 55.9% | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 56.6% | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 57.4% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 58.1% | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 58.9% | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 59.6% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 60.3% | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 60.9% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 61.6% | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 62.2% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 62.8% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 63.4% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 64.0% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 64.5% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 65.0% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 65.5% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 66.0% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 66.5% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 66.9% | +0.7% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 66.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 60.7%, 1.1× the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 66.9% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 64.5%, 1.0× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 46.8% | 42.0% | 51.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 56.1% | 52.4% | 59.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 63.0% | 60.3% | 65.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 66.5% | 66.0% | 66.9% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More health data for Costa Rica
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.78 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.4617 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,632 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 35 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -3.42 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0248 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -3.37 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight in Costa Rica?
- Prevalence of overweight in Costa Rica was 66.9% 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 66.9% in 2022.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.0% in 1990.
- How does Costa Rica rank for prevalence of overweight?
- Costa Rica ranks 39th out of 196 countries with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of overweight rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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.