Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (modeled estimate, %) in Australia
Australia: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (modeled estimate, %) was 26.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Australia, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
In 2024, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Australia stood at 26.4%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.3% on the previous year and up 72.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Australia peaked at 26.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.3%, in 2000.
Australia ranks 1st of 163 countries on this measure, 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 (modeled estimate, %) in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.3% | — |
| 2001 | 7.5% | +2.7% |
| 2002 | 7.8% | +4.0% |
| 2003 | 8.2% | +5.1% |
| 2004 | 8.6% | +4.9% |
| 2005 | 9.0% | +4.7% |
| 2006 | 9.5% | +5.6% |
| 2007 | 10.1% | +6.3% |
| 2008 | 10.6% | +5.0% |
| 2009 | 11.3% | +6.6% |
| 2010 | 12.0% | +6.2% |
| 2011 | 12.7% | +5.8% |
| 2012 | 13.5% | +6.3% |
| 2013 | 14.4% | +6.7% |
| 2014 | 15.3% | +6.3% |
| 2015 | 16.3% | +6.5% |
| 2016 | 17.3% | +6.1% |
| 2017 | 18.4% | +6.4% |
| 2018 | 19.5% | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 20.7% | +6.2% |
| 2020 | 21.8% | +5.3% |
| 2021 | 23.0% | +5.5% |
| 2022 | 24.2% | +5.2% |
| 2023 | 25.3% | +4.5% |
| 2024 | 26.4% | +4.3% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 26.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.6%, 3.1× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Australia's 26.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.5%, 4.8× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.0% | 7.3% | 11.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.0% | 12.0% | 20.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.1% | 21.8% | 26.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 2 Papua New Guinea 18.5% compare
- 3 Turks and Caicos Islands 18.3% compare
- 4 Tunisia 17.5% 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)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 215 (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)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0295 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Australia?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Australia was 26.4% in 2024, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
- What is the highest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 26.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.3% in 2000.
- How does Australia rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- Australia ranks 1st out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 72.5%. 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 (modeled estimate, % of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Prevalence of overweight children is the percentage of children 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.