Prevalence of overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Prevalence of overweight was 29.9% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 1990–2022
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/). Measured in % of adults.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) recorded 29.9% for prevalence of overweight in 2022. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and up 19.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) peaked at 29.9% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 13.0%, in 1990.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 37th out of 43 groups 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % of adults | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 13.0% | — |
| 1991 | 13.5% | +3.5% |
| 1992 | 13.9% | +3.3% |
| 1993 | 14.4% | +3.6% |
| 1994 | 14.9% | +3.4% |
| 1995 | 15.4% | +3.1% |
| 1996 | 15.9% | +3.3% |
| 1997 | 16.4% | +3.4% |
| 1998 | 17.0% | +3.5% |
| 1999 | 17.6% | +3.5% |
| 2000 | 18.2% | +3.5% |
| 2001 | 18.9% | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 19.5% | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 20.2% | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 20.8% | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 21.4% | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 22.0% | +2.8% |
| 2007 | 22.6% | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 23.1% | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 23.7% | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 24.1% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 24.6% | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 25.0% | +1.8% |
| 2013 | 25.4% | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 25.9% | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 26.3% | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 26.8% | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 27.2% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 27.7% | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 28.3% | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 28.8% | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 29.3% | +1.9% |
| 2022 | 29.9% | +1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.2% | 13.0% | 17.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.0% | 18.2% | 23.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.1% | 24.1% | 28.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.3% | 28.8% | 29.9% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
More health data for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
- Population ages 50-54, male, annual growth rate 3.53 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, male, annual growth rate 3.59 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per capita 0.0125 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 10-14, male, per capita 0.0617 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, annual growth rate 3.3 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, per capita 0.0147 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, female, annual growth rate 2.62 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, female, per capita 0.054 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Prevalence of overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) was 29.9% 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 29.9% in 2022.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.0% in 1990.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank for prevalence of overweight?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 37th out of 43 groups with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of overweight rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 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.