Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male was 9.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Saudi Arabia, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 9.0% for prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.2% on the previous year and down 17.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Saudi Arabia peaked at 11.6% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 4.0%, in 2000.
Saudi Arabia ranks 54th of 163 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.0% | — |
| 2001 | 4.3% | +7.5% |
| 2002 | 4.8% | +11.6% |
| 2003 | 5.2% | +8.3% |
| 2004 | 5.7% | +9.6% |
| 2005 | 6.2% | +8.8% |
| 2006 | 6.7% | +8.1% |
| 2007 | 7.3% | +9.0% |
| 2008 | 7.9% | +8.2% |
| 2009 | 8.4% | +6.3% |
| 2010 | 9.0% | +7.1% |
| 2011 | 9.5% | +5.6% |
| 2012 | 10.1% | +6.3% |
| 2013 | 10.5% | +4.0% |
| 2014 | 10.9% | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 11.2% | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 11.5% | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 11.6% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 11.6% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 11.5% | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 11.2% | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 10.8% | -3.6% |
| 2022 | 10.3% | -4.6% |
| 2023 | 9.7% | -5.8% |
| 2024 | 9.0% | -7.2% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 9.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 9.1%, 98% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 9.0% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 9.2%, 97% of the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.0% | 4.0% | 8.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.7% | 9.0% | 11.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.2% | 9.0% | 11.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
- 51 Montenegro 9.2% compare
- 51 Qatar 9.2% compare
- 53 Poland 9.1% compare
- 54 El Salvador 9.0% compare
- 56 Cape Verde 8.9% compare
- 57 Nauru 8.7% compare
More health data for Saudi Arabia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.8373 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.3736 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 483.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 829 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 5.31 % 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 0.0384 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 5.38 % 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 Saudi Arabia?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Saudi Arabia was 9.0% 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 11.6% in 2017.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.0% in 2000.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 54th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.