Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Rwanda
Rwanda: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 5.1% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Rwanda, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
In 2024, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Rwanda stood at 5.1%.
The figure is up 6.2% on the previous year and down 10.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Rwanda peaked at 7.6% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 4.6%, in 2020.
Rwanda ranks 90th of 163 countries on this measure, 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 Rwanda, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.8% | — |
| 2001 | 7.1% | +4.4% |
| 2002 | 7.3% | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 7.5% | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 7.6% | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 7.6% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 7.5% | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 7.3% | -2.7% |
| 2008 | 7.2% | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 6.9% | -4.2% |
| 2010 | 6.7% | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 6.5% | -3.0% |
| 2012 | 6.2% | -4.6% |
| 2013 | 5.9% | -4.8% |
| 2014 | 5.7% | -3.4% |
| 2015 | 5.4% | -5.3% |
| 2016 | 5.2% | -3.7% |
| 2017 | 5.0% | -3.8% |
| 2018 | 4.8% | -4.0% |
| 2019 | 4.7% | -2.1% |
| 2020 | 4.6% | -2.1% |
| 2021 | 4.6% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4.7% | +2.2% |
| 2023 | 4.8% | +2.1% |
| 2024 | 5.1% | +6.2% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 5.1% is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.3%, 1.5× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 5.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.3% | 6.8% | 7.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.6% | 4.7% | 6.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.8% | 4.6% | 5.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More health data for Rwanda
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.08 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.891 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 860.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 2,738 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.9441 % 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 0.065 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.9697 % 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 Rwanda?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Rwanda was 5.1% 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 Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 7.6% in 2004.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.6% in 2020.
- How does Rwanda rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- Rwanda ranks 90th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Rwanda 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.