Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 5.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Sierra Leone, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 5.4% for prevalence of overweight, weight for height in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 17.4% on the previous year and up 116.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Sierra Leone peaked at 5.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.5%, in 2013.
That places Sierra Leone 86th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.9% | — |
| 2001 | 4.6% | -6.1% |
| 2002 | 4.4% | -4.3% |
| 2003 | 4.1% | -6.8% |
| 2004 | 3.9% | -4.9% |
| 2005 | 3.7% | -5.1% |
| 2006 | 3.4% | -8.1% |
| 2007 | 3.2% | -5.9% |
| 2008 | 3.0% | -6.3% |
| 2009 | 2.9% | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 2.7% | -6.9% |
| 2011 | 2.6% | -3.7% |
| 2012 | 2.6% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 2.5% | -3.8% |
| 2014 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 2.6% | +4.0% |
| 2018 | 2.7% | +3.8% |
| 2019 | 2.9% | +7.4% |
| 2020 | 3.2% | +10.3% |
| 2021 | 3.5% | +9.4% |
| 2022 | 4.0% | +14.3% |
| 2023 | 4.6% | +15.0% |
| 2024 | 5.4% | +17.4% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 5.4% is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.3%, 1.6× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 5.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.8% | 2.9% | 4.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.6% | 2.5% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.1% | 3.2% | 5.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More health data for Sierra Leone
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.34 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.773 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,199 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,209 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 38 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.6447 % 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 0.0663 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.6611 % 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 Sierra Leone?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Sierra Leone was 5.4% 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 5.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.5% in 2013.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- Sierra Leone ranks 86th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 116.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.