Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male (% of children under 5) by country

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.

Countries reporting
85
Highest
18.2%
Russian Federation
Lowest
0.9%
Senegal
Median
4.5%
Years covered
39
1986–2024
Data points
718

What the numbers show

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male (% of children under 5) is currently reported for 85 countries. The highest value is 18.2% in Russian Federation; the lowest is 0.9% in Senegal.

The median across all reporting countries is 4.5%, and the mean is 5.7%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 20.

Over the past decade 35 countries rose and 44 fell. The largest increase was in Djibouti (up 633.3%), and the largest decrease in Timor-Leste (down 79.7%).

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Russian Federation 18.2% 2005 down 18.0% falling
2 Morocco 15.9% 2019 up 26.2% rising
3 Armenia 14.6% 2016 up 9.8% rising
4 Algeria 13.4% 2019 unchanged rising
5 Paraguay 13.0% 2016 up 106.3% rising
6 Cameroon 12.2% 2018 up 19.6% rising
7 Saudi Arabia 11.8% 2020 rising
8 Egypt 11.3% 2021 down 42.6% rising
9 Mongolia 11.2% 2018 down 5.9% rising
10 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 11.1% 2016 up 20.7% rising
11 Uruguay 11.0% 2018 up 15.8% falling
12 Thailand 10.5% 2022 up 4.0% rising
13 Eswatini 10.2% 2021 up 1.0% falling
13 Palestine, State of 10.2% 2020 up 70.0% rising
15 Jordan 9.6% 2023 up 71.4% rising
15 United States of America 9.6% 2022 up 68.4% rising
17 Türkiye 9.3% 2018 down 15.5% rising
18 Kyrgyzstan 9.2% 2023 down 3.2% falling
19 Kazakhstan 8.7% 2015 down 50.3% rising
20 Nicaragua 8.6% 2012 up 3.6% rising
21 El Salvador 8.3% 2021 up 31.7% rising
22 Dominican Republic 8.2% 2019 down 9.9% rising
23 Peru 8.1% 2023 down 16.5% falling
24 Lesotho 8.0% 2024 down 1.2% rising
25 Kuwait 7.7% 2023 down 4.9% rising
26 China 7.5% 2010 up 92.3% flat
27 Mexico 6.9% 2022 down 23.3% flat
28 Maldives 6.7% 2017 up 4.7% rising
28 Colombia 6.7% 2016 up 59.5% rising
30 Malaysia 6.6% 2022 down 14.3% flat
30 Korea 6.6% 2020 down 36.5% falling
32 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 6.3% 2019 down 6.0% rising
33 Guyana 6.0% 2019 up 22.4% rising
34 Jamaica 5.9% 2018 down 25.3% rising
35 Rwanda 5.8% 2020 down 15.9% flat
36 Viet Nam 5.5% 2010 up 120.0% rising
37 Zambia 5.4% 2018 down 37.2% falling
38 Uzbekistan 5.2% 2021 down 58.7% falling
39 Guatemala 5.1% 2015 down 16.4% rising
40 Malawi 5.0% 2020 down 50.5% volatile
41 Cambodia 4.7% 2021 up 161.1% falling
41 Ecuador 4.7% 2024 down 44.0% rising
43 Liberia 4.5% 2019 up 66.7% falling
43 Indonesia 4.5% 2023 down 61.9% volatile
45 Azerbaijan 4.4% 2023 down 70.9% falling
45 Djibouti 4.4% 2023 up 633.3% volatile
45 Honduras 4.4% 2019 down 30.2% rising
48 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 4.1% 2023 down 8.9% falling
48 Oman 4.1% 2017 up 173.3% volatile
48 Haiti 4.1% 2023 unchanged rising
48 Philippines 4.1% 2021 unchanged rising
52 Tajikistan 3.9% 2023 down 43.5% falling
53 Tanzania, United Republic of 3.8% 2022 down 35.6% falling
53 Côte d'Ivoire 3.8% 2021 up 100.0% falling
55 Uganda 3.6% 2022 down 51.4% flat
55 India 3.6% 2020 up 71.4% falling
57 Guinea 3.5% 2022 down 22.2% falling
58 Mozambique 3.2% 2022 down 60.5% falling
59 Guinea-Bissau 3.1% 2019 up 72.2% falling
60 Kenya 3.0% 2022 down 36.2% falling
61 Zimbabwe 2.9% 2019 down 32.6% falling
61 Lao People's Democratic Republic 2.9% 2023 up 45.0% rising
61 Benin 2.9% 2021 up 81.2% falling
64 Sierra Leone 2.8% 2021 up 100.0% falling
65 Chad 2.4% 2022 down 4.0% falling
65 Ethiopia 2.4% 2019 up 50.0% falling
67 Pakistan 2.3% 2018 down 65.7% rising
68 Sri Lanka 2.2% 2016 up 15.8% volatile
69 Ghana 2.1% 2022 down 22.2% rising
69 Madagascar 2.1% 2021 up 110.0% volatile
71 Gambia 2.0% 2020 down 16.7% falling
72 Niger 1.8% 2022 up 100.0% volatile
72 Burkina Faso 1.8% 2021 up 125.0% falling
74 Nepal 1.6% 2022 up 6.7% volatile
74 Burundi 1.6% 2020 down 48.4% rising
74 Mali 1.6% 2024 unchanged volatile
77 Central African Republic 1.5% 2019 down 25.0% volatile
78 Togo 1.4% 2017 up 40.0% volatile
78 Bangladesh 1.4% 2022 down 17.6% rising
78 Yemen 1.4% 2022 unchanged falling
81 Nigeria 1.3% 2021 down 59.4% volatile
82 Timor-Leste 1.2% 2020 down 79.7% volatile
82 Mauritania 1.2% 2021 down 58.6% volatile
84 Myanmar 1.1% 2018 down 59.3% volatile
85 Senegal 0.9% 2023 down 30.8% volatile

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Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-overweight-weight-for-height-male-percent-of-children-under-5/

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About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male (% of children under 5)
Unit
% of children under 5
Source
UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
85 places, 718 data points, 1986–2024
Last refreshed

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.