Share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese was 2.4% in 2014. ▼ Falling
Share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in Costa Rica, 1975–2014
Source: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 2.4% for share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in 2014. That is the lowest value across all 40 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 20.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in Costa Rica peaked at 7.6% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 2.4%, in 2013.
Costa Rica ranks 130th of 198 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 40 years of available data.
Share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 7.6% | — |
| 1976 | 7.4% | -2.6% |
| 1977 | 7.1% | -4.1% |
| 1978 | 6.9% | -2.8% |
| 1979 | 6.7% | -2.9% |
| 1980 | 6.5% | -3.0% |
| 1981 | 6.3% | -3.1% |
| 1982 | 6.1% | -3.2% |
| 1983 | 6.0% | -1.6% |
| 1984 | 5.8% | -3.3% |
| 1985 | 5.7% | -1.7% |
| 1986 | 5.5% | -3.5% |
| 1987 | 5.4% | -1.8% |
| 1988 | 5.2% | -3.7% |
| 1989 | 5.0% | -3.8% |
| 1990 | 4.9% | -2.0% |
| 1991 | 4.7% | -4.1% |
| 1992 | 4.5% | -4.3% |
| 1993 | 4.4% | -2.2% |
| 1994 | 4.2% | -4.5% |
| 1995 | 4.1% | -2.4% |
| 1996 | 3.9% | -4.9% |
| 1997 | 3.8% | -2.6% |
| 1998 | 3.6% | -5.3% |
| 1999 | 3.5% | -2.8% |
| 2000 | 3.4% | -2.9% |
| 2001 | 3.3% | -2.9% |
| 2002 | 3.2% | -3.0% |
| 2003 | 3.1% | -3.1% |
| 2004 | 3.0% | -3.2% |
| 2005 | 3.0% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 2.9% | -3.3% |
| 2007 | 2.8% | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 2.7% | -3.6% |
| 2009 | 2.7% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 2.6% | -3.7% |
| 2011 | 2.5% | -3.8% |
| 2012 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 2.4% | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 2.4% | +0.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 2.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.3%, 1.0× the median. (67 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 2.4% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 2.6%, 92% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.1% | 6.7% | 7.6% | 5 |
| 1980s | 5.8% | 5.0% | 6.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.2% | 3.5% | 4.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.0% | 2.7% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.5% | 2.4% | 2.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More health data for Costa Rica
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.78 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.4617 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,632 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 35 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -3.42 % 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 0.0248 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -3.37 % 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 share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in Costa Rica?
- Share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in Costa Rica was 2.4% in 2014, according to NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 7.6% in 1975.
- What is the lowest share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.4% in 2013.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese?
- Costa Rica ranks 130th out of 198 countries with data for 2014.
- Is share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of women (% of adult population), who are underweight, healthy/normal, overweight or obese based on body mass index (BMI). Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person's weight divided by their height squared. The WHO define a BMI <=18.5 as underweight; 18.6 to 25.0 as normal/healthy; 25.1 to 30 as overweight; and >30.0 as obese.