Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Cameroon
Cameroon: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 11.0% in 2018. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Cameroon, 1991–2018
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'. Measured in % of children under 5.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 11.0% for prevalence of overweight, weight for height in 2018. That is the highest value across all 7 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Cameroon peaked at 11.0% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 4.7%, in 1991.
Cameroon ranks 11th of 93 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 4.7% | — |
| 1998 | 8.2% | +74.5% |
| 2004 | 8.7% | +6.1% |
| 2006 | 10.5% | +20.7% |
| 2011 | 6.5% | -38.1% |
| 2014 | 6.7% | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 11.0% | +64.2% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 11.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 2.8× the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 11.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.9%, 3.8× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.4% | 4.7% | 8.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 9.6% | 8.7% | 10.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 8.1% | 6.5% | 11.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 8 South Africa 11.8% compare
- 9 Saudi Arabia 11.6% compare
- 10 Uruguay 11.4% compare
- 12 Thailand 10.9% compare
- 13 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 10.1% compare
- 13 Egypt 10.1% compare
More health data for Cameroon
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.28 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7821 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 786.1 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 12,841 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 17 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.22 % 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 0.0746 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.21 % 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 Cameroon?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Cameroon was 11.0% in 2018, according to 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'.
- What is the highest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 11.0% in 2018.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.7% in 1991.
- How does Cameroon rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- Cameroon ranks 11th out of 93 countries with data for 2018.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from 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', published as part of Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (% of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 7 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.