Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Uganda
Uganda: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 4.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Uganda, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
In 2024, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Uganda stood at 4.2%.
The figure is up 7.7% on the previous year and up 13.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Uganda peaked at 5.3% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 3.3%, in 2018.
Uganda ranks 113th 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 Uganda, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5.1% | — |
| 2001 | 5.2% | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 5.3% | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 5.3% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 5.3% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 5.2% | -1.9% |
| 2006 | 5.1% | -1.9% |
| 2007 | 5.0% | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 4.8% | -4.0% |
| 2009 | 4.6% | -4.2% |
| 2010 | 4.4% | -4.3% |
| 2011 | 4.2% | -4.5% |
| 2012 | 4.0% | -4.8% |
| 2013 | 3.8% | -5.0% |
| 2014 | 3.7% | -2.6% |
| 2015 | 3.5% | -5.4% |
| 2016 | 3.4% | -2.9% |
| 2017 | 3.4% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 3.3% | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 3.3% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 3.4% | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 3.5% | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 3.6% | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 3.9% | +8.3% |
| 2024 | 4.2% | +7.7% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 4.2% is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.3%, 1.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 4.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 99% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.1% | 4.6% | 5.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.7% | 3.3% | 4.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.7% | 3.4% | 4.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
- 111 Kenya 4.3% compare
- 111 South Sudan 4.3% compare
- 113 Azerbaijan 4.2% compare
- 113 Democratic Republic of Congo 4.2% compare
- 113 Honduras 4.2% compare
More health data for Uganda
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.2 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.34 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 853.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 6,666 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 111 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.28 % 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 0.0787 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.34 % 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 Uganda?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Uganda was 4.2% 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 Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 5.3% in 2002.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.3% in 2018.
- How does Uganda rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- Uganda ranks 113th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Uganda 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.