Statizoid

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (% of children under 5) by country

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.

Countries reporting
93
Highest
17.2%
Tunisia
Lowest
0.5%
Sri Lanka
Median
4.5%
Years covered
41
1984–2024
Data points
858

What the numbers show

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (% of children under 5) is currently reported for 93 countries. The highest value is 17.2% in Tunisia; the lowest is 0.5% in Sri Lanka.

The median across all reporting countries is 4.5%, and the mean is 5.7%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 34.

Over the past decade 40 countries rose and 48 fell. The largest increase was in Djibouti (up 1,300.0%), and the largest decrease in East Timor (down 77.6%).

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (% of children under 5): full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Tunisia 17.2% 2018 up 95.5% volatile
2 Russia 16.9% 2005 down 2.3% flat
3 Armenia 13.7% 2016 up 20.2% rising
4 Mongolia 12.8% 2023 up 21.9% rising
4 Algeria 12.8% 2019 down 0.8% rising
6 Morocco 12.7% 2019 up 17.6% rising
7 Paraguay 12.4% 2016 up 82.4% rising
8 South Africa 11.8% 2017 down 9.2% rising
9 Saudi Arabia 11.6% 2020 down 9.4% rising
10 Uruguay 11.4% 2018 up 35.7% flat
11 Cameroon 11.0% 2018 up 4.8% rising
12 Thailand 10.9% 2022 unchanged rising
13 Bolivia 10.1% 2016 up 16.1% rising
13 Egypt 10.1% 2021 down 50.5% rising
15 Eswatini 9.8% 2021 down 8.4% falling
16 United States 9.5% 2022 up 48.4% rising
17 Vietnam 9.4% 2023 up 104.3% volatile
18 Chile 9.3% 2014 down 23.1% falling
18 Kazakhstan 9.3% 2015 down 45.0% rising
20 Jordan 9.2% 2023 up 95.7% rising
21 Kyrgyzstan 8.8% 2023 down 1.1% falling
22 Palestine 8.6% 2020 up 62.3% rising
23 China 8.5% 2017 up 46.6% flat
24 Romania 8.3% 2002 up 107.5% rising
24 Nicaragua 8.3% 2012 up 15.3% rising
24 El Salvador 8.3% 2021 up 45.6% rising
27 Turkey 8.1% 2018 down 17.3% rising
27 Kuwait 8.1% 2023 up 9.5% rising
29 Lesotho 7.7% 2024 up 2.7% rising
29 Dominican Republic 7.7% 2019 down 7.2% rising
31 Peru 7.5% 2023 down 11.8% falling
32 Mexico 7.1% 2022 down 21.1% falling
33 Guyana 6.5% 2019 down 3.0% rising
33 United Kingdom 6.5% 2019 down 1.5% rising
35 Venezuela 6.4% 2009 up 23.1% rising
36 South Korea 6.2% 2020 down 22.5% falling
37 Jamaica 5.7% 2018 down 26.9% rising
37 Colombia 5.7% 2016 up 35.7% rising
39 Malaysia 5.6% 2022 down 21.1% flat
39 Rwanda 5.6% 2020 down 18.8% flat
41 Zambia 5.2% 2018 down 38.1% falling
42 Guatemala 4.9% 2015 down 5.8% rising
42 Maldives 4.9% 2017 down 21.0% rising
44 Tajikistan 4.6% 2023 down 31.3% falling
45 Honduras 4.5% 2019 down 22.4% rising
45 Afghanistan 4.5% 2022 down 15.1% falling
45 Ecuador 4.5% 2024 down 43.8% rising
45 Uzbekistan 4.5% 2021 down 63.1% volatile
49 Liberia 4.4% 2019 up 63.0% falling
49 Malawi 4.4% 2020 down 51.1% volatile
51 Zimbabwe 4.3% 2024 up 19.4% falling
51 Finland 4.3% 2023 up 13.2% rising
51 Indonesia 4.3% 2023 down 62.6% volatile
54 Djibouti 4.2% 2023 up 1,300.0% volatile
54 Oman 4.2% 2017 up 147.1% volatile
56 Cambodia 4.1% 2021 up 115.8% volatile
57 Azerbaijan 4.0% 2023 down 71.6% rising
58 Haiti 3.9% 2023 up 8.3% falling
58 Philippines 3.9% 2021 up 5.4% rising
60 Democratic Republic of Congo 3.8% 2023 down 13.6% falling
61 Tanzania 3.7% 2022 down 27.5% falling
62 India 3.5% 2020 up 84.2% falling
63 Cote d'Ivoire 3.4% 2021 up 112.5% falling
63 Uganda 3.4% 2022 down 41.4% falling
63 Kenya 3.4% 2022 down 17.1% falling
66 Guinea 3.3% 2022 down 13.2% falling
67 Mozambique 3.2% 2022 down 59.0% falling
68 Belarus 3.0% 2023 — volatile
69 Benin 2.9% 2021 up 93.3% falling
70 Sierra Leone 2.8% 2021 up 100.0% falling
70 Laos 2.8% 2023 up 40.0% rising
72 Pakistan 2.5% 2018 down 62.1% falling
73 Ethiopia 2.3% 2019 up 27.8% falling
74 Guinea-Bissau 2.2% 2019 unchanged falling
74 Chad 2.2% 2022 down 21.4% falling
76 Gambia 2.1% 2020 up 10.5% falling
77 Ghana 2.0% 2022 down 23.1% rising
78 Madagascar 1.9% 2021 up 90.0% volatile
79 Bangladesh 1.6% 2022 down 5.9% volatile
80 Togo 1.5% 2017 up 36.4% falling
80 Yemen 1.5% 2022 unchanged volatile
80 Central African Republic 1.5% 2019 down 16.7% volatile
80 Burundi 1.5% 2020 down 48.3% rising
80 Nigeria 1.5% 2021 down 50.0% volatile
80 Burkina Faso 1.5% 2021 up 114.3% falling
86 Mali 1.4% 2024 up 16.7% volatile
87 Nepal 1.3% 2022 down 13.3% volatile
87 East Timor 1.3% 2020 down 77.6% volatile
89 Niger 1.2% 2022 up 50.0% volatile
90 Senegal 1.1% 2023 unchanged volatile
91 Mauritania 1.0% 2021 down 68.8% volatile
92 Myanmar 0.8% 2018 down 69.2% volatile
93 Sri Lanka 0.5% 2024 down 16.7% volatile

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Prevalence of overweight, weight for height by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'. Retrieved 11 November 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-overweight-weight-for-height-percent-of-children-under-5/

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About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (% of children under 5)
Unit
% of children under 5
Source
UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology., UN Children'
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
93 places, 858 data points, 1984–2024
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.