Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 3.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Ethiopia, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
The most recent figure for prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Ethiopia is 3.3%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 10.0% on the previous year and up 32.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Ethiopia peaked at 3.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.4%, in 2017.
Ethiopia ranks 133rd of 163 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.8% | — |
| 2001 | 2.9% | +3.6% |
| 2002 | 3.0% | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 3.1% | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 3.0% | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 2.9% | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 2.9% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 2.8% | -3.4% |
| 2012 | 2.7% | -3.6% |
| 2013 | 2.6% | -3.7% |
| 2014 | 2.5% | -3.8% |
| 2015 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 2.4% | -4.0% |
| 2018 | 2.4% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 2.5% | +4.2% |
| 2020 | 2.6% | +4.0% |
| 2021 | 2.7% | +3.8% |
| 2022 | 2.8% | +3.7% |
| 2023 | 3.0% | +7.1% |
| 2024 | 3.3% | +10.0% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 3.3% is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.3%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 3.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 78% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.0% | 2.8% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.6% | 2.4% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.9% | 2.6% | 3.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
- 131 Cote d'Ivoire 3.5% compare
- 132 Belarus 3.4% compare
- 133 Germany 3.3% compare
- 133 North Korea 3.3% compare
- 133 Philippines 3.3% compare
More health data for Ethiopia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.67 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.9494 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 744.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 19,997 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 148 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.34 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0709 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.36 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Ethiopia?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Ethiopia was 3.3% 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 Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.4% in 2017.
- How does Ethiopia rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- Ethiopia ranks 133rd out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.