Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Uruguay

Uruguay: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 13.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
13.5%
Change on year
up 6.3%
World rank
11th
of 163 countries
All-time high
13.5%
in 2024
All-time low
9.2%
in 2007
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Uruguay, 2000–2024

0510152000201220242000: 9.62001: 9.52002: 9.52003: 9.42004: 9.42005: 9.32006: 9.32007: 9.22008: 9.22009: 9.22010: 9.22011: 9.22012: 9.32013: 9.42014: 9.52015: 9.62016: 9.82017: 10.12018: 10.32019: 10.72020: 11.12021: 11.52022: 12.12023: 12.72024: 13.5

Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Analysis

The most recent figure for prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Uruguay is 13.5%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 6.3% on the previous year and up 42.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Uruguay peaked at 13.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 9.2%, in 2007.

Uruguay ranks 11th of 163 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Uruguay, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) in Uruguay, 2000 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2000 9.6%
2001 9.5% -1.0%
2002 9.5% +0.0%
2003 9.4% -1.1%
2004 9.4% +0.0%
2005 9.3% -1.1%
2006 9.3% +0.0%
2007 9.2% -1.1%
2008 9.2% +0.0%
2009 9.2% +0.0%
2010 9.2% +0.0%
2011 9.2% +0.0%
2012 9.3% +1.1%
2013 9.4% +1.1%
2014 9.5% +1.1%
2015 9.6% +1.1%
2016 9.8% +2.1%
2017 10.1% +3.1%
2018 10.3% +2.0%
2019 10.7% +3.9%
2020 11.1% +3.7%
2021 11.5% +3.6%
2022 12.1% +5.2%
2023 12.7% +5.0%
2024 13.5% +6.3%

Uruguay compared with similar countries

  • Uruguay's 13.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.6%, 1.6× the median. (38 countries reporting)
  • Uruguay's 13.5% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 7.9%, 1.7× the median. (27 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 9.4% 9.2% 9.6% 10
2010s 9.7% 9.2% 10.7% 10
2020s 12.2% 11.1% 13.5% 5

Countries ranked near Uruguay

  1. 8 Trinidad and Tobago 15.0% compare
  2. 9 Argentina 14.3% compare
  3. 10 Cameroon 13.6% compare
  4. 11 Greece 13.5% compare
  5. 13 Algeria 13.3% compare
  6. 14 Barbados 13.0% compare
  7. 14 Bosnia and Herzegovina 13.0% compare

See the full ranking of 208 places →

More health data for Uruguay

All data for Uruguay →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Uruguay?
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Uruguay was 13.5% 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 Uruguay?
The highest recorded value was 13.5% in 2024.
What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Uruguay?
The lowest recorded value was 9.2% in 2007.
How does Uruguay rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
Uruguay ranks 11th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Uruguay?
Over the last ten years it is up 42.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Uruguay 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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Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Uruguay. Statizoid, drawing on Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-overweight-weight-for-height-modeled-estimate-percent-of-children-under-5/uruguay/

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About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (modeled estimate, % of children under 5)
Source
Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
208 places, 5,200 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.