Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in OECD members
OECD members: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 8.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in OECD members, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
OECD members recorded 8.1% for prevalence of overweight, weight for height in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.8% on the previous year and up 12.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in OECD members peaked at 8.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.4%, in 2000.
OECD members ranks 9th of 45 groups on this measure, 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 OECD members, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.4% | — |
| 2001 | 6.4% | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 6.5% | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 6.6% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 6.6% | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 6.7% | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 6.8% | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 6.9% | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 7.0% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 7.0% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 7.0% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 7.1% | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 7.2% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 7.2% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 7.2% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 7.3% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 7.3% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 7.3% | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 7.4% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 7.5% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 7.5% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 7.6% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 7.7% | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 7.9% | +2.0% |
| 2024 | 8.1% | +2.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.7% | 6.4% | 7.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.3% | 7.0% | 7.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.8% | 7.5% | 8.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near OECD members
More health data for OECD members
- Population ages 30-34, female, per capita 0.0327 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, annual growth rate 0.5105 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, female, per capita 0.0331 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, female, annual growth rate 0.2277 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 30-34, male, per capita 0.034 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 30-34, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 30-34, male, annual growth rate -0.7104 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 25-29, female, per capita 0.0314 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 25-29, male, annual growth rate -0.2209 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height in OECD members?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in OECD members was 8.1% 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 OECD members?
- The highest recorded value was 8.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in OECD members?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.4% in 2000.
- How does OECD members rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- OECD members ranks 9th out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in OECD members?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this OECD members 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.