Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (modeled estimate, %) in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries): Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (modeled estimate, %) was 3.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) is 3.8%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 8.6% on the previous year and up 14.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 5.4% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 2019.
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 35th of 45 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (modeled estimate, %) in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5.4% | — |
| 2001 | 5.4% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 5.3% | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 5.2% | -1.5% |
| 2004 | 5.1% | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 5.0% | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 4.8% | -3.4% |
| 2007 | 4.6% | -3.9% |
| 2008 | 4.4% | -4.2% |
| 2009 | 4.2% | -4.9% |
| 2010 | 4.1% | -4.2% |
| 2011 | 3.8% | -5.0% |
| 2012 | 3.7% | -4.6% |
| 2013 | 3.5% | -4.2% |
| 2014 | 3.4% | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 3.3% | -3.1% |
| 2016 | 3.2% | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 3.1% | -2.3% |
| 2018 | 3.0% | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 3.0% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 3.1% | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 3.2% | +3.3% |
| 2022 | 3.3% | +4.8% |
| 2023 | 3.5% | +5.7% |
| 2024 | 3.8% | +8.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.0% | 4.2% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.4% | 3.0% | 4.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.4% | 3.1% | 3.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
More health data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Population ages 20-24, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 25-29, female, annual growth rate 2.74 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, male, per capita 0.047 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, male, annual growth rate 3.15 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, female, per capita 0.0465 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, male, per capita 0.055 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, male, annual growth rate 2.68 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 25-29, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) was 3.8% 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 5.4% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 2019.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 35th out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 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.