Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in South Sudan
South Sudan: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 4.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in South Sudan, 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 South Sudan is 4.3%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 10.3% on the previous year and down 14.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in South Sudan peaked at 10.3% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 3.7%, in 2019.
South Sudan ranks 111th 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 South Sudan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 10.2% | — |
| 2001 | 10.3% | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 10.3% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 10.2% | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 10.0% | -2.0% |
| 2005 | 9.7% | -3.0% |
| 2006 | 9.2% | -5.2% |
| 2007 | 8.7% | -5.4% |
| 2008 | 8.1% | -6.9% |
| 2009 | 7.5% | -7.4% |
| 2010 | 6.9% | -8.0% |
| 2011 | 6.4% | -7.2% |
| 2012 | 5.9% | -7.8% |
| 2013 | 5.4% | -8.5% |
| 2014 | 5.0% | -7.4% |
| 2015 | 4.6% | -8.0% |
| 2016 | 4.3% | -6.5% |
| 2017 | 4.0% | -7.0% |
| 2018 | 3.8% | -5.0% |
| 2019 | 3.7% | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 3.7% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3.7% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 3.8% | +2.7% |
| 2023 | 3.9% | +2.6% |
| 2024 | 4.3% | +10.3% |
South Sudan compared with similar countries
- South Sudan's 4.3% is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.3%, 1.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- South Sudan's 4.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.4% | 7.5% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.0% | 3.7% | 6.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.9% | 3.7% | 4.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Sudan
- 111 Kenya 4.3% compare
- 113 Azerbaijan 4.2% compare
- 113 Democratic Republic of Congo 4.2% compare
- 113 Honduras 4.2% compare
- 113 Uganda 4.2% compare
More health data for South Sudan
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.665 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.47 % change on previous year (2100)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 12,029 deaths (2100)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,347 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 123 deaths (2026)
- Deaths in armed conflicts by region 123 deaths (2026)
- Population ages 25-29, female, per capita 0.0349 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 30-34, female, per capita 0.0265 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 30-34, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2015)
- Population ages 30-34, female, annual growth rate 1.24 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height in South Sudan?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in South Sudan was 4.3% 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 South Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 10.3% in 2001.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in South Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 2019.
- How does South Sudan rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- South Sudan ranks 111th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in South Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Sudan 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.