Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Bhutan
Bhutan: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 8.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Bhutan, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Bhutan recorded 8.0% for prevalence of overweight, weight for height in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.2% on the previous year and up 6.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Bhutan peaked at 8.3% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 4.1%, in 2000.
Bhutan ranks 58th 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 in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.1% | — |
| 2001 | 4.3% | +4.9% |
| 2002 | 4.5% | +4.7% |
| 2003 | 4.8% | +6.7% |
| 2004 | 5.0% | +4.2% |
| 2005 | 5.2% | +4.0% |
| 2006 | 5.5% | +5.8% |
| 2007 | 5.8% | +5.5% |
| 2008 | 6.0% | +3.4% |
| 2009 | 6.3% | +5.0% |
| 2010 | 6.6% | +4.8% |
| 2011 | 6.8% | +3.0% |
| 2012 | 7.1% | +4.4% |
| 2013 | 7.3% | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 7.5% | +2.7% |
| 2015 | 7.8% | +4.0% |
| 2016 | 7.9% | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 8.1% | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 8.2% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 8.3% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 8.3% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 8.3% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 8.2% | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 8.1% | -1.2% |
| 2024 | 8.0% | -1.2% |
Bhutan compared with similar countries
- Bhutan's 8.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.7%, 1.7× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Bhutan's 8.0% is above the median for South Asia, which is 2.4%, 3.3× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.2% | 4.1% | 6.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.6% | 6.6% | 8.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.2% | 8.0% | 8.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
- 55 Cape Verde 8.4% compare
- 55 Saudi Arabia 8.4% compare
- 57 Nauru 8.2% compare
- 59 Costa Rica 7.9% compare
- 60 United Kingdom 7.8% compare
- 61 Turkey 7.7% compare
More health data for Bhutan
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -10 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.0915 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,531 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 9 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.2986 % 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 0.0299 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.3987 % 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 in Bhutan?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Bhutan was 8.0% in 2024, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
- What is the highest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 8.3% in 2019.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.1% in 2000.
- How does Bhutan rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- Bhutan ranks 58th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan 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.