Prevalence of overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Prevalence of overweight was 29.9% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa, 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 Sub-Saharan Africa is 29.9%, measured 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 peaked at 29.9% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 13.0%, in 1990.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 35th of 43 groups on this measure, 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, 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% | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 20.8% | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 21.4% | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 22.0% | +2.8% |
| 2007 | 22.6% | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 23.2% | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 23.7% | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 24.1% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 24.6% | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 25.0% | +1.7% |
| 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 | 27.8% | +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
More health data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Population ages 15-64, male, annual growth rate 3.04 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total, per capita 0.4038 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female, annual growth rate 2.96 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female, per capita 0.2837 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, male, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, total, annual growth rate 3 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, male, per capita 0.2801 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Prevalence of overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa 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?
- The highest recorded value was 29.9% in 2022.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.0% in 1990.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for prevalence of overweight?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 35th out of 43 groups with data for 2022.
- Is prevalence of overweight rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 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 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.