Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Botswana

Botswana: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 11.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
11.5%
Change on year
up 1.8%
World rank
21st
of 163 countries
All-time high
11.5%
in 2024
All-time low
9.8%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Botswana, 2000–2024

02.557.51012.52000201220242000: 9.82001: 9.92002: 9.92003: 102004: 102005: 10.12006: 10.22007: 10.22008: 10.32009: 10.32010: 10.42011: 10.52012: 10.62013: 10.72014: 10.72015: 10.82016: 10.82017: 10.82018: 10.82019: 10.82020: 10.92021: 112022: 11.22023: 11.32024: 11.5

Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Analysis

In 2024, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Botswana stood at 11.5%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.8% on the previous year and up 7.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Botswana peaked at 11.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 9.8%, in 2000.

That places Botswana 21st out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Botswana, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) in Botswana, 2000 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2000 9.8%
2001 9.9% +1.0%
2002 9.9% +0.0%
2003 10.0% +1.0%
2004 10.0% +0.0%
2005 10.1% +1.0%
2006 10.2% +1.0%
2007 10.2% +0.0%
2008 10.3% +1.0%
2009 10.3% +0.0%
2010 10.4% +1.0%
2011 10.5% +1.0%
2012 10.6% +1.0%
2013 10.7% +0.9%
2014 10.7% +0.0%
2015 10.8% +0.9%
2016 10.8% +0.0%
2017 10.8% +0.0%
2018 10.8% +0.0%
2019 10.8% +0.0%
2020 10.9% +0.9%
2021 11.0% +0.9%
2022 11.2% +1.8%
2023 11.3% +0.9%
2024 11.5% +1.8%

Botswana compared with similar countries

  • Botswana's 11.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 7.5%, 1.5× the median. (54 countries reporting)
  • Botswana's 11.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 2.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 10.1% 9.8% 10.3% 10
2010s 10.7% 10.4% 10.8% 10
2020s 11.2% 10.9% 11.5% 5

Countries ranked near Botswana

  1. 18 Mongolia 12.3% compare
  2. 18 North Macedonia 12.3% compare
  3. 20 Serbia 12.2% compare
  4. 22 Canada 11.4% compare
  5. 23 Egypt 11.2% compare
  6. 23 Ireland 11.2% compare
  7. 23 Morocco 11.2% compare

See the full ranking of 208 places →

More health data for Botswana

All data for Botswana →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Botswana?
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Botswana was 11.5% 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 Botswana?
The highest recorded value was 11.5% in 2024.
What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Botswana?
The lowest recorded value was 9.8% in 2000.
How does Botswana rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
Botswana ranks 21st out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Botswana?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Botswana 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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Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Botswana. Statizoid, drawing on Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-overweight-weight-for-height-modeled-estimate-percent-of-children-under-5/botswana/

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About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (modeled estimate, % of children under 5)
Source
Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
208 places, 5,200 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.