Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 5.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Bulgaria, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
In 2024, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Bulgaria stood at 5.5%.
That represents a change of up 10.0% on the previous year and unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Bulgaria peaked at 10.4% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 4.3%, in 2019.
That places Bulgaria 81st out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 10.2% | — |
| 2001 | 10.3% | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 10.4% | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 10.3% | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 10.2% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 10.0% | -2.0% |
| 2006 | 9.6% | -4.0% |
| 2007 | 9.1% | -5.2% |
| 2008 | 8.6% | -5.5% |
| 2009 | 8.0% | -7.0% |
| 2010 | 7.4% | -7.5% |
| 2011 | 6.9% | -6.8% |
| 2012 | 6.4% | -7.2% |
| 2013 | 5.9% | -7.8% |
| 2014 | 5.5% | -6.8% |
| 2015 | 5.1% | -7.3% |
| 2016 | 4.8% | -5.9% |
| 2017 | 4.6% | -4.2% |
| 2018 | 4.4% | -4.3% |
| 2019 | 4.3% | -2.3% |
| 2020 | 4.3% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4.4% | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 4.6% | +4.5% |
| 2023 | 5.0% | +8.7% |
| 2024 | 5.5% | +10.0% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 5.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 8.6%, 64% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 5.5% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 6.6%, 83% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.7% | 8.0% | 10.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.5% | 4.3% | 7.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.8% | 4.3% | 5.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More health data for Bulgaria
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.5 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.615 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,422 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 39 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.2564 % 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 0.0222 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.3643 % 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 Bulgaria?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Bulgaria was 5.5% 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 Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 10.4% in 2002.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.3% in 2019.
- How does Bulgaria rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- Bulgaria ranks 81st out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria 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.