Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia

Zambia: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male was 5.4% in 2018. ▼ Falling

Latest (2018)
5.4%
World rank
37th
of 85 countries
All-time high
13.3%
in 1999
All-time low
5.2%
in 1992
Years of data
7
1992–2018

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia, 1992–2018

0510151992200520181992: 5.2 % of children under 51996: 6.4 % of children under 51999: 13.3 % of children under 52002: 6.4 % of children under 52007: 8.6 % of children under 52013: 6.6 % of children under 52018: 5.4 % 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'. Measured in % of children under 5.

Analysis

Zambia recorded 5.4% for prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in 2018.

The figure is down 37.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia peaked at 13.3% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 5.2%, in 1992.

That places Zambia 37th out of 85 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the middle of the range.

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male (% of children under 5) in Zambia, 1992 to 2018.
Year % of children under 5 Change
1992 5.2%
1996 6.4% +23.1%
1999 13.3% +107.8%
2002 6.4% -51.9%
2007 8.6% +34.4%
2013 6.6% -23.3%
2018 5.4% -18.2%

Zambia compared with similar countries

  • Zambia's 5.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.8%, 1.4× the median. (34 countries reporting)
  • Zambia's 5.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.9%, 1.9× the median. (32 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 8.3% 5.2% 13.3% 3
2000s 7.5% 6.4% 8.6% 2
2010s 6.0% 5.4% 6.6% 2

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 34 Jamaica 5.9% compare
  2. 35 Rwanda 5.8% compare
  3. 36 Vietnam 5.5% compare
  4. 38 Uzbekistan 5.2% compare
  5. 39 Guatemala 5.1% compare
  6. 40 Malawi 5.0% compare

See the full ranking of 85 places →

More health data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia?
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia was 5.4% in 2018, according to 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'.
What is the highest prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male recorded in Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 13.3% in 1999.
What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 5.2% in 1992.
How does Zambia rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male?
Zambia ranks 37th out of 85 countries with data for 2018.
Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is down 37.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Zambia data come from?
The figures come from 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', published as part of Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male (% of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia. 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 18 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-overweight-weight-for-height-male-percent-of-children-under-5/zambia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-overweight-weight-for-height-male-percent-of-children-under-5/zambia/">Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia</a> — Statizoid

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.