Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tonga
Tonga: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 9.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tonga, 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 Tonga is 9.5%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 5.9% on the previous year and down 34.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tonga peaked at 15.7% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 9.5%, in 2024.
That places Tonga 41st out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tonga, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 13.0% | — |
| 2001 | 13.5% | +3.8% |
| 2002 | 14.0% | +3.7% |
| 2003 | 14.5% | +3.6% |
| 2004 | 14.9% | +2.8% |
| 2005 | 15.2% | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 15.5% | +2.0% |
| 2007 | 15.7% | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 15.7% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 15.7% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 15.5% | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 15.3% | -1.3% |
| 2012 | 15.0% | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 14.7% | -2.0% |
| 2014 | 14.4% | -2.0% |
| 2015 | 14.1% | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 13.7% | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 13.3% | -2.9% |
| 2018 | 12.8% | -3.8% |
| 2019 | 12.4% | -3.1% |
| 2020 | 11.8% | -4.8% |
| 2021 | 11.3% | -4.2% |
| 2022 | 10.7% | -5.3% |
| 2023 | 10.1% | -5.6% |
| 2024 | 9.5% | -5.9% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 9.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 7.5%, 1.3× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 9.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.5%, 1.7× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 14.8% | 13.0% | 15.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.1% | 12.4% | 15.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.7% | 9.5% | 11.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
- 40 United States of America 9.7% compare
- 41 Brunei Darussalam 9.5% compare
- 41 Russian Federation 9.5% compare
- 44 Portugal 9.4% compare
- 44 Samoa 9.4% compare
More health data for Tonga
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -33.33 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 2.33 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 834.5 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 2 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -1.42 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0535 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -1.36 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tonga?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tonga was 9.5% 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 Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 15.7% in 2007.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.5% in 2024.
- How does Tonga rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- Tonga ranks 41st out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tonga 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.