Obesity in adults — all countries

Obesity in adults — Southern Europe

Obesity in adults in Southern Europe in 2024 — 17%. Since 1980, the indicator has risen by 4.5 pp.

2024 17% −0.1 pp vs 2023
World rank
Period maximum 18.5%2011
Period minimum 12.6%1980

Trend over time

1980–2024 · % of adults

Obesity in adults — Southern Europe, 1980–2024121416182019801985199019952000200520102015202020241980: 12.6%1981: 12.6%1982: 12.6%1983: 12.7%1984: 12.7%1985: 12.7%1986: 12.8%1987: 12.8%1988: 12.9%1989: 13%1990: 13.1%1991: 13.2%1992: 13.4%1993: 13.5%1994: 13.8%1995: 14%1996: 14.3%1997: 14.6%1998: 14.9%1999: 15.3%2000: 15.6%2001: 16%2002: 16.3%2003: 16.7%2004: 17%2005: 17.4%2006: 17.7%2007: 18%2008: 18.2%2009: 18.3%2010: 18.4%2011: 18.5%2012: 18.5%2013: 18.4%2014: 18.4%2015: 18.3%2016: 18.2%2017: 18%2018: 17.9%2019: 17.8%2020: 17.6%2021: 17.5%2022: 17.3%2023: 17.2%2024: 17%
Change over the period: +4.5 pp Annual average: 0.1 pp

Comparison, 2024

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Southern Europe

Southern Europe 17%
World computed 16.1%
Obesity in adults — Southern Europe, by year Southern Europe All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2024 17 −0.1 pp
2023 17.2 −0.1 pp
2022 17.3 −0.2 pp
2021 17.5 −0.2 pp
2020 17.6 −0.1 pp
2019 17.8 −0.1 pp
2018 17.9 −0.1 pp
2017 18 −0.1 pp
2016 18.2 −0.1 pp
2015 18.3 −0.1 pp
2014 18.4 −0.1 pp
2013 18.4 −0 pp
2012 18.5 −0 pp
2011 18.5 +0 pp
2010 18.4 +0.1 pp
2009 18.3 +0.2 pp
2008 18.2 +0.2 pp
2007 18 +0.3 pp
2006 17.7 +0.3 pp
2005 17.4 +0.3 pp
2004 17 +0.3 pp
2003 16.7 +0.4 pp
2002 16.3 +0.4 pp
2001 16 +0.4 pp
2000 15.6 +0.4 pp
1999 15.3 +0.3 pp
1998 14.9 +0.3 pp
1997 14.6 +0.3 pp
1996 14.3 +0.3 pp
1995 14 +0.2 pp
1994 13.8 +0.2 pp
1993 13.5 +0.2 pp
1992 13.4 +0.1 pp
1991 13.2 +0.1 pp
1990 13.1 +0.1 pp
1989 13 +0.1 pp
1988 12.9 +0.1 pp
1987 12.8 +0.1 pp
1986 12.8 +0 pp
1985 12.7 +0 pp
1984 12.7 +0 pp
1983 12.7 +0 pp
1982 12.6 +0 pp
1981 12.6 +0 pp
1980 12.6

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.