Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Australia
Australia: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male was 27.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Australia, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
In 2024, prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Australia stood at 27.8%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 4.5% on the previous year and up 71.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Australia peaked at 27.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.8%, in 2000.
That places Australia 1st out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.8% | — |
| 2001 | 8.0% | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 8.4% | +5.0% |
| 2003 | 8.7% | +3.6% |
| 2004 | 9.1% | +4.6% |
| 2005 | 9.6% | +5.5% |
| 2006 | 10.1% | +5.2% |
| 2007 | 10.7% | +5.9% |
| 2008 | 11.3% | +5.6% |
| 2009 | 12.0% | +6.2% |
| 2010 | 12.7% | +5.8% |
| 2011 | 13.5% | +6.3% |
| 2012 | 14.4% | +6.7% |
| 2013 | 15.3% | +6.3% |
| 2014 | 16.2% | +5.9% |
| 2015 | 17.3% | +6.8% |
| 2016 | 18.3% | +5.8% |
| 2017 | 19.5% | +6.6% |
| 2018 | 20.6% | +5.6% |
| 2019 | 21.8% | +5.8% |
| 2020 | 23.0% | +5.5% |
| 2021 | 24.2% | +5.2% |
| 2022 | 25.5% | +5.4% |
| 2023 | 26.6% | +4.3% |
| 2024 | 27.8% | +4.5% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 27.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.1%, 3.0× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Australia's 27.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.9%, 4.7× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.6% | 7.8% | 12.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.0% | 12.7% | 21.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.4% | 23.0% | 27.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 2 Papua New Guinea 19.5% compare
- 3 Turks and Caicos Islands 19.4% compare
- 4 Tunisia 18.5% compare
More health data for Australia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.83 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.9072 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 906.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 215 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2021)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.45 % 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 0.0279 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.35 % 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, weight for height, male in Australia?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Australia was 27.8% in 2024, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
- What is the highest prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 27.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.8% in 2000.
- How does Australia rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male?
- Australia ranks 1st out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 71.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as part of Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male (modeled estimate, % of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Prevalence of overweight, male, is the percentage of boys under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations above the median for the international reference population of the corresponding age as established by the WHO's 2006 Child Growth Standards.