Prevalence of overweight in Nigeria
Nigeria: Prevalence of overweight was 34.3% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight in Nigeria, 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 Nigeria is 34.3%, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.7% on the previous year and up 17.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight in Nigeria peaked at 34.3% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 12.3%, in 1990.
That places Nigeria 159th out of 196 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % of adults | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 12.3% | — |
| 1991 | 13.0% | +5.1% |
| 1992 | 13.6% | +5.1% |
| 1993 | 14.3% | +5.0% |
| 1994 | 15.0% | +5.0% |
| 1995 | 15.8% | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 16.5% | +4.9% |
| 1997 | 17.3% | +4.9% |
| 1998 | 18.2% | +4.8% |
| 1999 | 19.1% | +4.8% |
| 2000 | 19.9% | +4.7% |
| 2001 | 20.9% | +4.6% |
| 2002 | 21.8% | +4.4% |
| 2003 | 22.7% | +4.2% |
| 2004 | 23.6% | +4.0% |
| 2005 | 24.5% | +3.7% |
| 2006 | 25.3% | +3.4% |
| 2007 | 26.1% | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 26.8% | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 27.5% | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 28.1% | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 28.6% | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 29.1% | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 29.6% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 30.0% | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 30.5% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 31.0% | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 31.5% | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 32.0% | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 32.6% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 33.1% | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 33.7% | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 34.3% | +1.7% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 34.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 39.5%, 87% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 34.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 32.8%, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.5% | 12.3% | 19.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 23.9% | 19.9% | 27.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 30.3% | 28.1% | 32.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.7% | 33.1% | 34.3% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More health data for Nigeria
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.08 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.8137 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,301 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 257,921 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 14 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.14 % 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 0.0711 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.17 % 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 in Nigeria?
- Prevalence of overweight in Nigeria was 34.3% in 2022, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).
- What is the highest prevalence of overweight recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 34.3% in 2022.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.3% in 1990.
- How does Nigeria rank for prevalence of overweight?
- Nigeria ranks 159th out of 196 countries with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of overweight rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria 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.