Obesity in adults — all countries

Obesity in adults — Upper-middle-income countries

Obesity in adults in upper-middle-income countries in 2024 — 17%. Since 1980, the indicator has risen by 13.8 pp.

2024 17% +0.6 pp vs 2023
World rank
Period maximum 17%2024
Period minimum 3.2%1980

Trend over time

1980–2024 · % of adults

Obesity in adults — Upper-middle-income countries, 1980–20240510152019801985199019952000200520102015202020241980: 3.2%1981: 3.3%1982: 3.4%1983: 3.6%1984: 3.7%1985: 3.8%1986: 4%1987: 4.1%1988: 4.3%1989: 4.5%1990: 4.6%1991: 4.8%1992: 5%1993: 5.2%1994: 5.4%1995: 5.7%1996: 5.9%1997: 6.1%1998: 6.4%1999: 6.6%2000: 6.9%2001: 7.1%2002: 7.4%2003: 7.7%2004: 8%2005: 8.3%2006: 8.6%2007: 8.9%2008: 9.3%2009: 9.6%2010: 10%2011: 10.4%2012: 10.8%2013: 11.3%2014: 11.7%2015: 12.2%2016: 12.6%2017: 13.1%2018: 13.6%2019: 14.1%2020: 14.6%2021: 15.2%2022: 15.8%2023: 16.4%2024: 17%
Change over the period: +13.8 pp Annual average: 0.31 pp

Comparison, 2024

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

Upper-middle-income countries 17%
World computed 16.1%
Obesity in adults — Upper-middle-income countries, by year Upper-middle-income countries All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2024 17 +0.6 pp
2023 16.4 +0.6 pp
2022 15.8 +0.6 pp
2021 15.2 +0.5 pp
2020 14.6 +0.5 pp
2019 14.1 +0.5 pp
2018 13.6 +0.5 pp
2017 13.1 +0.5 pp
2016 12.6 +0.5 pp
2015 12.2 +0.5 pp
2014 11.7 +0.4 pp
2013 11.3 +0.4 pp
2012 10.8 +0.4 pp
2011 10.4 +0.4 pp
2010 10 +0.4 pp
2009 9.6 +0.4 pp
2008 9.3 +0.4 pp
2007 8.9 +0.3 pp
2006 8.6 +0.3 pp
2005 8.3 +0.3 pp
2004 8 +0.3 pp
2003 7.7 +0.3 pp
2002 7.4 +0.3 pp
2001 7.1 +0.3 pp
2000 6.9 +0.3 pp
1999 6.6 +0.3 pp
1998 6.4 +0.2 pp
1997 6.1 +0.2 pp
1996 5.9 +0.2 pp
1995 5.7 +0.2 pp
1994 5.4 +0.2 pp
1993 5.2 +0.2 pp
1992 5 +0.2 pp
1991 4.8 +0.2 pp
1990 4.6 +0.2 pp
1989 4.5 +0.2 pp
1988 4.3 +0.2 pp
1987 4.1 +0.2 pp
1986 4 +0.1 pp
1985 3.8 +0.1 pp
1984 3.7 +0.1 pp
1983 3.6 +0.1 pp
1982 3.4 +0.1 pp
1981 3.3 +0.1 pp
1980 3.2

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.