Obesity in adults — all countries

Obesity in adults — Lower-middle-income countries

Obesity in adults in lower-middle-income countries in 2024 — 13.1%. Since 1980, the indicator has risen by 10.9 pp.

2024 13.1% +0.5 pp vs 2023
World rank
Period maximum 13.1%2024
Period minimum 2.2%1980

Trend over time

1980–2024 · % of adults

Obesity in adults — Lower-middle-income countries, 1980–202405101519801985199019952000200520102015202020241980: 2.2%1981: 2.2%1982: 2.3%1983: 2.4%1984: 2.5%1985: 2.6%1986: 2.6%1987: 2.7%1988: 2.9%1989: 3%1990: 3.1%1991: 3.2%1992: 3.4%1993: 3.5%1994: 3.6%1995: 3.8%1996: 4%1997: 4.2%1998: 4.3%1999: 4.6%2000: 4.8%2001: 5%2002: 5.3%2003: 5.5%2004: 5.8%2005: 6.1%2006: 6.3%2007: 6.6%2008: 6.9%2009: 7.2%2010: 7.5%2011: 7.8%2012: 8.2%2013: 8.5%2014: 8.9%2015: 9.3%2016: 9.7%2017: 10.1%2018: 10.5%2019: 10.9%2020: 11.3%2021: 11.7%2022: 12.1%2023: 12.6%2024: 13.1%
Change over the period: +10.9 pp Annual average: 0.25 pp

Comparison, 2024

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Lower-middle-income countries

Lower-middle-income countries 13.1%
World computed 16.1%
Obesity in adults — Lower-middle-income countries, by year Lower-middle-income countries All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2024 13.1 +0.5 pp
2023 12.6 +0.4 pp
2022 12.1 +0.4 pp
2021 11.7 +0.4 pp
2020 11.3 +0.4 pp
2019 10.9 +0.4 pp
2018 10.5 +0.4 pp
2017 10.1 +0.4 pp
2016 9.7 +0.4 pp
2015 9.3 +0.4 pp
2014 8.9 +0.4 pp
2013 8.5 +0.3 pp
2012 8.2 +0.3 pp
2011 7.8 +0.3 pp
2010 7.5 +0.3 pp
2009 7.2 +0.3 pp
2008 6.9 +0.3 pp
2007 6.6 +0.3 pp
2006 6.3 +0.3 pp
2005 6.1 +0.3 pp
2004 5.8 +0.3 pp
2003 5.5 +0.3 pp
2002 5.3 +0.2 pp
2001 5 +0.2 pp
2000 4.8 +0.2 pp
1999 4.6 +0.2 pp
1998 4.3 +0.2 pp
1997 4.2 +0.2 pp
1996 4 +0.2 pp
1995 3.8 +0.2 pp
1994 3.6 +0.1 pp
1993 3.5 +0.1 pp
1992 3.4 +0.1 pp
1991 3.2 +0.1 pp
1990 3.1 +0.1 pp
1989 3 +0.1 pp
1988 2.9 +0.1 pp
1987 2.7 +0.1 pp
1986 2.6 +0.1 pp
1985 2.6 +0.1 pp
1984 2.5 +0.1 pp
1983 2.4 +0.1 pp
1982 2.3 +0.1 pp
1981 2.2 +0.1 pp
1980 2.2

About the indicator

The share of people aged 18 and over with a body mass index of 30 kg/m² and above. The series has been kept since 1980 and shows one of the fastest changes in the health of populations in the whole history of observation: in most countries the share has grown two- to threefold. The top of the ranking is held not by rich countries, as one might expect, but by the islands of Oceania and the Persian Gulf, where the shift to purchased food happened within one generation.

Important: The aggregate by country group is weighted by the whole population rather than the adult one: the share of adults differs between countries by a factor of about 1.5, so young countries get a slightly larger weight than they should.

Source: Global Health Observatory (WHO), license CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.