Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (modeled estimate, %) in North Korea
North Korea: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (modeled estimate, %) was 3.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in North Korea, 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 North Korea is 3.3%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.5% on the previous year and up 83.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in North Korea peaked at 3.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2000.
That places North Korea 133rd out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (modeled estimate, %) in North Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.0% | — |
| 2001 | 1.0% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1.0% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1.0% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1.1% | +10.0% |
| 2005 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1.2% | +9.1% |
| 2008 | 1.3% | +8.3% |
| 2009 | 1.3% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1.4% | +7.7% |
| 2011 | 1.5% | +7.1% |
| 2012 | 1.6% | +6.7% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | +6.2% |
| 2014 | 1.8% | +5.9% |
| 2015 | 1.9% | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 2.0% | +5.3% |
| 2017 | 2.1% | +5.0% |
| 2018 | 2.3% | +9.5% |
| 2019 | 2.4% | +4.3% |
| 2020 | 2.6% | +8.3% |
| 2021 | 2.8% | +7.7% |
| 2022 | 2.9% | +3.6% |
| 2023 | 3.1% | +6.9% |
| 2024 | 3.3% | +6.5% |
North Korea compared with similar countries
- North Korea's 3.3% is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.3%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- North Korea's 3.3% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.5%, 60% of the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.9% | 1.4% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.9% | 2.6% | 3.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
- 131 Cote d'Ivoire 3.5% compare
- 132 Belarus 3.4% compare
- 133 Ethiopia 3.3% compare
- 133 Germany 3.3% compare
- 133 Philippines 3.3% compare
More health data for North Korea
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.2456 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.16 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 767 (2100)
- Age population, age 06, male, interpolated 175,499 (2025)
- Vaccination coverage by income in 99 (2025)
- Age population, age 06, female, interpolated 166,257 (2025)
- Population, male 49.5% (2025)
- Population, female 50.5% (2025)
- Population ages 65 and above 12.7% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, male 9.14 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height in North Korea?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in North Korea 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 North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 3.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2000.
- How does North Korea rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- North Korea ranks 133rd out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 83.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North Korea 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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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.