Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 4.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Zimbabwe, 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 Zimbabwe is 4.0%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 11.1% on the previous year and up 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Zimbabwe peaked at 8.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 3.1%, in 2019.
That places Zimbabwe 120th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.7% | — |
| 2001 | 8.7% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 8.6% | -1.1% |
| 2003 | 8.3% | -3.5% |
| 2004 | 8.1% | -2.4% |
| 2005 | 7.7% | -4.9% |
| 2006 | 7.3% | -5.2% |
| 2007 | 6.8% | -6.8% |
| 2008 | 6.3% | -7.4% |
| 2009 | 5.9% | -6.3% |
| 2010 | 5.4% | -8.5% |
| 2011 | 4.9% | -9.3% |
| 2012 | 4.5% | -8.2% |
| 2013 | 4.2% | -6.7% |
| 2014 | 3.9% | -7.1% |
| 2015 | 3.7% | -5.1% |
| 2016 | 3.5% | -5.4% |
| 2017 | 3.3% | -5.7% |
| 2018 | 3.2% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 3.1% | -3.1% |
| 2020 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3.2% | +3.2% |
| 2022 | 3.4% | +6.2% |
| 2023 | 3.6% | +5.9% |
| 2024 | 4.0% | +11.1% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 4.0% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.7%, 86% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 4.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 94% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.6% | 5.9% | 8.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.0% | 3.1% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.5% | 3.1% | 4.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More health data for Zimbabwe
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.39 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.11 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 874.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,457 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.9632 % 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 0.0689 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.9673 % 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 Zimbabwe?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Zimbabwe was 4.0% 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 8.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.1% in 2019.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- Zimbabwe ranks 120th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.