Prevalence of overweight in Ireland
Ireland: Prevalence of overweight was 64.7% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight in Ireland, 1990–2022
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/). Measured in % of adults.
Analysis
The most recent figure for prevalence of overweight in Ireland is 64.7%, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight in Ireland peaked at 64.7% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 50.0%, in 1990.
Ireland ranks 48th 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 Ireland, year by year
| Year | % of adults | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 50.0% | — |
| 1991 | 50.9% | +1.7% |
| 1992 | 51.7% | +1.7% |
| 1993 | 52.6% | +1.6% |
| 1994 | 53.4% | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 54.2% | +1.5% |
| 1996 | 55.0% | +1.5% |
| 1997 | 55.8% | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 56.5% | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 57.2% | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 57.9% | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 58.6% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 59.2% | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 59.7% | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 60.3% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 60.8% | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 61.2% | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 61.6% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 61.9% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 62.2% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 62.5% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 62.7% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 62.9% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 63.0% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 63.2% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 63.4% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 63.6% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 63.8% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 64.0% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 64.2% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 64.4% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 64.6% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 64.7% | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 53.7% | 50.0% | 57.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 60.3% | 57.9% | 62.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 63.3% | 62.5% | 64.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 64.6% | 64.4% | 64.7% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More health data for Ireland
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -4.76 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.89 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,122 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 20 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.7228 % 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 0.026 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.6489 % 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 Ireland?
- Prevalence of overweight in Ireland was 64.7% 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 64.7% in 2022.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 50.0% in 1990.
- How does Ireland rank for prevalence of overweight?
- Ireland ranks 48th out of 196 countries with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of overweight rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland 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.