Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Liberia
Liberia: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 6.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Liberia, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
In 2024, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Liberia stood at 6.1%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 15.1% on the previous year and up 96.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Liberia peaked at 6.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.1%, in 2012.
Liberia ranks 75th 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 Liberia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.6% | — |
| 2001 | 4.5% | -2.2% |
| 2002 | 4.3% | -4.4% |
| 2003 | 4.2% | -2.3% |
| 2004 | 4.0% | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 3.9% | -2.5% |
| 2006 | 3.7% | -5.1% |
| 2007 | 3.6% | -2.7% |
| 2008 | 3.4% | -5.6% |
| 2009 | 3.3% | -2.9% |
| 2010 | 3.2% | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 3.2% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 3.1% | -3.1% |
| 2013 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3.2% | +3.2% |
| 2017 | 3.3% | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 3.4% | +3.0% |
| 2019 | 3.6% | +5.9% |
| 2020 | 3.9% | +8.3% |
| 2021 | 4.3% | +10.3% |
| 2022 | 4.8% | +11.6% |
| 2023 | 5.3% | +10.4% |
| 2024 | 6.1% | +15.1% |
Liberia compared with similar countries
- Liberia's 6.1% is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.3%, 1.8× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Liberia's 6.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.0% | 3.3% | 4.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.2% | 3.1% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.9% | 3.9% | 6.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Liberia
More health data for Liberia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.57 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7528 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,097 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 3,457 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.13 % 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 0.068 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.13 % 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 Liberia?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Liberia was 6.1% 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 Liberia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Liberia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.1% in 2012.
- How does Liberia rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- Liberia ranks 75th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Liberia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 96.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Liberia 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.