Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tunisia

Tunisia: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 17.2% in 2018. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2018)
17.2%
World rank
1st
of 93 countries
All-time high
17.2%
in 2018
All-time low
1.4%
in 1997
Years of data
5
1988–2018

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tunisia, 1988–2018

0510151988200320181988: 4.4 % of children under 51997: 1.4 % of children under 52006: 8.8 % of children under 52012: 14.3 % of children under 52018: 17.2 % 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'. Measured in % of children under 5.

Analysis

In 2018, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tunisia stood at 17.2%. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 95.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tunisia peaked at 17.2% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 1.4%, in 1997.

That places Tunisia 1st out of 93 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Annual values for Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (% of children under 5) in Tunisia, 1988 to 2018.
Year % of children under 5 Change
1988 4.4%
1997 1.4% -68.2%
2006 8.8% +528.6%
2012 14.3% +62.5%
2018 17.2% +20.3%

Tunisia compared with similar countries

  • Tunisia's 17.2% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 4.3× the median. (36 countries reporting)
  • Tunisia's 17.2% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 8.6%, 2.0× the median. (13 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 4.4% 4.4% 4.4% 1
1990s 1.4% 1.4% 1.4% 1
2000s 8.8% 8.8% 8.8% 1
2010s 15.8% 14.3% 17.2% 2

Countries ranked near Tunisia

  1. 2 Russian Federation 16.9% compare
  2. 3 Armenia 13.7% compare
  3. 4 Algeria 12.8% compare
  4. 4 Mongolia 12.8% compare

See the full ranking of 93 places →

More health data for Tunisia

All data for Tunisia →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tunisia?
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tunisia was 17.2% 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 Tunisia?
The highest recorded value was 17.2% in 2018.
What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Tunisia?
The lowest recorded value was 1.4% in 1997.
How does Tunisia rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
Tunisia ranks 1st out of 93 countries with data for 2018.
Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Tunisia?
Over the last ten years it is up 95.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Tunisia 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 — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tunisia. 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 16 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-overweight-weight-for-height-percent-of-children-under-5/tunisia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-overweight-weight-for-height-percent-of-children-under-5/tunisia/">Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Tunisia</a> — Statizoid

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.