Map Options

Color Scheme:
map placeholder
Mean BMI - Both (kg/m²)

20.0

21.0

22.0

23.0

24.0

25.0

26.0

27.0

28.0

29.0

30.0

31.0

32.0

33.0

34.0

Click on a country for details.

Most Obese Countries 2024

Snapshot

  • Global obesity has tripled since 1975, now affecting about 30% of the population, approximately 2.1 billion people, and continues to increase.

  • While the Body Mass Index (BMI) is a common but flawed obesity measure, the Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHtR) offers a more accurate assessment by considering waist circumference.

  • Oceania faces a high obesity challenge, possibly due to dietary changes from traditional to fast foods, alongside economic and genetic factors.

Obesity is a growing global concern. Data suggests the number of obese people in the world has tripled since 1975 to approximately 2.1 billion—roughly 30% of the total population—and this number continues to rise.

Obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable death, dramatically decreasing not just a person's overall quality of life but also their life expectancy. Obesity puts people at higher risk for diabetes, heart disease, and even certain types of cancer. Additional health risks from diabetes include osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, kidney disease, strokes, and high blood pressure. Pregnant women who are obese may suffer from complications that can lead to health problems for the mother or child.

Because of the many health concerns associated with obesity, it can be used as a major overall health indicator of a population. The healthiest countries in the world generally have lower obesity rates.

The good and bad of BMI

One frequently used measure of obesity all over the world is Body Mass Index, or BMI. Introduced in the 1830s, this measure considers a person's weight in relation to their height. A normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9, and a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.

Despite its popularity, BMI is widely considered to be a flawed metric. It fails to consider vital influencing factors such as body type, gender, age, and bone density. Moreover, BMI can't distinguish between muscle and fat.

This can lead to clearly inaccurate results, particularly in athletes. For example, professional wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in his prime was a heavily muscled picture of physical fitness—but his 6'2" height and 252-lb (114kg) weight gave him a BMI of 32.4, classifying him as obese.

Because of results such as these, BMI is a fairly imprecise determiner of whether or not a given person is overweight. However, because of its global ubiquity, it remains the best currently available metric to use for country-to-country comparisons.

A newer, but notably more consistent test for obesity is waist-to-height ratio, or WHtR. According to WHtR, a person is obese if the circumference of their waist measures more than half their height. Thus, a WHtR of .5 or lower is healthy, and a WHtR of higher than .5 is obese (though the cutoff rises to .6 for patients aged 50 and older).

Obesity from country to country

National obesity is typically measured by examining either the average BMI of its citizens or the percentage of citizens whose BMI qualifies as obese. These methods give similar, but different results. For example, the World Health Organization's 2016 data yields the following results:

10 Most Obese Countries in the World, 2016 (measured by average BMI)*:

Country
Mean BMI - Both (kg/m²)
Cook Islands32.9
Nauru32.5
Niue32.4
Samoa32.2
Tonga32.2
Tuvalu30.8
Kiribati30.1
Saint Lucia30.0
Micronesia29.7
Egypt29.6

10 Most Obese Countries in the World, 2016 (measured by percentage of obese adults)*:

Country
Obesity Rate - Both
Nauru61%
Cook Islands55.9%
Palau55.3%
Marshall Islands52.9%
Tuvalu51.6%
Niue50%
Tonga48.2%
Samoa47.3%
Kiribati46%
Micronesia45.8%

While it's easy to assume that the easy availability of rich, decadent foods in the world's wealthiest and most developed countries would make them the most obese, this isn't always the case. The United States and the United Kingdom are two of the most economically rich and developed countries globally. However, they'd place 18th and 48th respectively when ranked by BMI, and 123rd and 95th when ranked by percentage of obese adults.

Oceania seems to be especially challenged by obesity. One proposed cause is that foreigners taught the locals to fry their meals, abandoning their traditional cultivation, preparation, and preserving skills. Other possible factors include genetic predisposition; an increased tendency to replace local food sources with less nutritious imported options; and the rise of fast-food restaurants, which have replaced healthier local food (a scenario mirrored in Kuwait).

Additionally, the World Health Organization posits that the rising costs of healthy food and increased food scarcity in underdeveloped nations is a contributing factor to obesity in poor and/or developing nations and least developed nations.

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Country
Mean BMI - Both (kg/m²)
Mean BMI - Female (kg/m²)
Mean BMI - Male (kg/m²)
Obesity Rate - Both
Obesity Rate - Female
Obesity Rate - Male
Data Year
Cook Islands32.933.132.755.9%59.2%52.6%2016
Nauru32.532.732.261%63.3%58.7%2016
Niue32.433.331.450%55.1%44.8%2016
Samoa32.234.130.447.3%55%39.9%2016
Tonga32.233.730.548.2%54.5%41.4%2016
Tuvalu30.831.630.051.6%56.2%47%2016
Kiribati30.131.129.046%50.4%41.6%2016
Saint Lucia30.030.429.619.7%27%12%2016
Micronesia29.731.428.145.8%51.5%40.1%2016
Egypt29.631.427.832%41.1%22.7%2016
Kuwait29.630.429.037.9%45.6%33.3%2016
Marshall Islands29.630.428.852.9%57.3%48.4%2016
Saint Kitts and Nevis29.530.728.222.9%30.1%15.3%2016
Palau29.529.629.555.3%58.8%51.8%2016
Qatar29.230.128.835.1%43.1%32.5%2016
Belize29.130.527.524.1%31.5%16.5%2016
Jordan29.029.828.335.5%43.1%28.2%2016
United States28.928.928.836.2%37%35.5%2016
Iraq28.829.727.830.4%37%23.4%2016
Saudi Arabia28.529.228.035.4%42.3%30.8%2016
United Arab Emirates28.429.428.031.7%41%27.5%2016
Syria28.329.227.427.8%34.8%20.9%2016
Libya28.129.226.932.5%39.6%25%2016
Mexico28.028.427.528.9%32.8%24.3%2016
Chile28.028.127.828%31%24.9%2016
New Zealand28.028.028.130.8%31.4%30.1%2016
Bahamas28.028.827.131.6%38.1%24.4%2016
Turkey27.928.627.132.1%39.2%24.4%2016
Jamaica27.829.625.824.7%33.4%15.3%2016
Barbados27.829.226.423.1%31.3%14.7%2016
Argentina27.727.627.828.3%29%27.3%2016
El Salvador27.727.926.624.6%28.9%18.9%2016
Fiji27.728.826.630.2%35.3%25.1%2016
Lebanon27.627.427.932%37%27.4%2016
Georgia27.627.627.521.7%23.8%19.2%2016
Trinidad and Tobago27.628.626.618.6%26%10.8%2016
Ireland27.527.027.925.3%25.5%25.1%2016
Croatia27.426.828.024.4%24.5%24.1%2016
Uruguay27.427.327.327.9%30.6%24.9%2016
South Africa27.329.325.028.3%39.6%15.4%2016
Ecuador27.327.926.619.9%24.7%14.9%2016
Hungary27.326.428.226.4%24.6%28.2%2016
Israel27.326.927.626.1%26.2%25.9%2016
Costa Rica27.327.926.825.7%30.4%21.1%2016
Nicaragua27.227.926.523.7%29%17.9%2016
Brunei27.227.227.214.1%15.7%12.5%2016
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines27.228.226.323.7%31%16.6%2016
United Kingdom27.127.027.327.8%28.6%26.9%2016
Australia27.126.727.629%28.4%29.6%2016
Czech Republic27.126.227.926%25.4%26.4%2016
Azerbaijan27.127.926.119.9%23.6%15.8%2016
Greece27.126.727.524.9%25.4%24.2%2016
Malta27.126.327.728.9%28.5%29.2%2016
Moldova27.027.326.618.9%21.1%16.2%2016
Grenada27.028.825.221.3%29%13.3%2016
Dominica27.029.025.027.9%35.6%19.9%2016
Canada26.926.627.329.4%29.3%29.5%2016
Uzbekistan26.927.426.316.6%19%13.8%2016
Romania26.926.827.022.5%21.6%23.4%2016
Panama26.927.726.222.7%27.6%17.8%2016
Honduras26.827.625.921.4%26.9%15.6%2016
North Macedonia26.826.227.322.4%22.1%22.6%2016
Cyprus26.826.027.521.8%21.6%21.9%2016
Eswatini26.828.924.516.5%26.2%5.4%2016
Poland26.725.927.423.1%22.2%23.7%2016
Peru26.727.126.219.7%24.2%15.2%2016
Venezuela26.726.826.625.6%28.6%22.4%2016
Paraguay26.726.926.520.3%23.4%17.1%2016
Norway26.726.127.323.1%22.5%23.6%2016
Albania26.726.327.021.7%21.8%21.6%2016
Latvia26.726.227.023.6%25.1%21.6%2016
Seychelles26.727.925.514%20.5%7.6%2016
Antigua and Barbuda26.727.725.718.9%25.9%11.6%2016
Andorra26.726.127.325.6%25.3%25.9%2016
Brazil26.626.826.322.1%25.4%18.5%2016
Germany26.625.827.322.3%20.4%24.2%2016
Ukraine26.626.226.924.1%25.7%22%2016
Guatemala26.627.325.721.2%26.4%15.1%2016
Bolivia26.627.725.320.2%25.6%14.5%2016
Belarus26.626.626.424.5%26.3%22.1%2016
Kyrgyzstan26.627.225.916.6%18.6%14%2016
Turkmenistan26.626.626.518.6%20.9%15.9%2016
Slovenia26.626.526.620.2%21%19.4%2016
Dominican Republic26.527.425.027.6%34.1%21%2016
Suriname26.527.725.426.4%33.7%18.9%2016
Montenegro26.526.127.023.3%23.1%23.3%2016
Kazakhstan26.426.426.321%22.7%18.9%2016
Bulgaria26.425.727.125%24.3%25.5%2016
Slovakia26.425.527.320.5%19.9%21%2016
Lithuania26.425.827.026.3%27.8%24.2%2016
Estonia26.425.926.921.2%21.8%20.3%2016
Guyana26.427.725.120.2%27.1%12.7%2016
Tunisia26.327.125.526.9%34.3%19.1%2016
Oman26.326.326.427%33.7%22.9%2016
Armenia26.327.025.620.2%23%17.1%2016
Solomon Islands26.326.925.722.5%27.1%17.9%2016
Luxembourg26.325.627.022.6%20.7%24.5%2016
Russia26.226.425.823.1%26.9%18.1%2016
Colombia26.226.625.822.3%26.6%17.6%2016
Mongolia26.226.625.920.6%23.2%17.5%2016
Iceland26.225.527.021.9%19.4%24.2%2016
Vanuatu26.226.825.625.2%30.1%20.2%2016
Iran26.127.025.225.8%32.2%19.3%2016
Belgium26.125.626.622.1%21%23.1%2016
Tajikistan26.126.325.814.2%16.7%11.6%2016
Serbia26.125.526.621.5%21.8%21.1%2016
Morocco26.026.525.426.1%23.2%19.4%2016
Sweden26.025.426.720.6%18.1%23.1%2016
Spain25.924.827.023.8%22.8%24.6%2016
Finland25.925.526.422.2%20.6%23.7%2016
Bosnia and Herzegovina25.825.126.417.9%18.4%17.1%2016
Malaysia25.726.125.315.6%17.9%13%2016
Italy25.624.726.519.9%19.5%20.1%2016
Netherlands25.625.126.020.4%20%20.8%2016
Cuba25.626.025.224.6%30.3%18.9%2016
Papua New Guinea25.626.025.321.3%25.8%16.6%2016
Portugal25.625.126.120.8%21.2%20.3%2016
Austria25.624.626.520.1%18.3%21.9%2016
Algeria25.526.424.727.4%21.8%21.6%2016
Maldives25.526.324.68.6%11.4%5.8%2016
Haiti25.324.226.522.7%26.9%17.9%2016
Denmark25.324.426.219.7%17%22.3%2016
Switzerland25.223.726.719.5%16.9%22.2%2016
Gabon25.226.524.015%20.3%9.6%2016
Mauritius25.225.924.610.8%15.7%5.6%2016
France25.024.225.921.6%21.1%22%2016
Mauritania24.926.623.212.7%18.5%6.6%2016
Lesotho24.927.022.716.6%26.7%4.6%2016
Bahrain24.824.824.829.8%36.8%25.5%2016
Sao Tome and Principe24.825.623.912.4%16.9%7.2%2016
Comoros24.525.623.37.8%12.2%3.3%2016
Cape Verde24.525.323.711.8%16.3%6.9%2016
Thailand24.425.023.910%12.7%7%2016
Cameroon24.325.123.611.4%16.4%6.1%2016
Botswana24.326.122.518.9%29.3%8.1%2016
Namibia24.225.322.917.2%25.4%7.5%2016
North Korea24.124.024.26.8%7.3%6.1%2016
Liberia24.125.123.19.9%14.2%5.5%2016
Gambia24.024.523.410.3%14.8%5.6%2016
Equatorial Guinea24.025.922.38%12.6%3.8%2016
Djibouti24.024.623.413.5%18.3%8.6%2016
Pakistan23.924.623.38.6%11.3%6%2016
Ghana23.925.222.510.9%16.6%4.5%2016
Bhutan23.924.523.56.4%8.5%4.7%2016
China23.823.524.26.2%6.5%5.9%2016
South Korea23.823.124.44.7%4.8%4.4%2016
Yemen23.824.123.617.1%22%12%2016
Ivory Coast23.824.223.410.3%15.2%5.8%2016
Zimbabwe23.825.322.215.5%25.3%4.7%2016
Togo23.624.522.58.4%12.5%3.9%2016
Singapore23.623.024.36.1%6.3%5.8%2016
Benin23.524.522.69.6%14.2%4.7%2016
Afghanistan23.424.122.65.5%7.6%3.2%2016
Guinea Bissau23.424.022.89.5%13.7%5%2016
Kenya23.324.522.17.1%11.1%2.8%2016
Angola23.324.322.38.2%12.1%4%2016
Nigeria23.223.922.58.9%13.1%4.6%2016
Philippines23.223.522.86.4%7.5%5.2%2016
Tanzania23.224.122.38.4%12.7%4%2016
Somalia23.223.922.58.3%12.3%3.9%2016
Republic of the Congo23.224.122.39.6%13.5%5.5%2016
Indonesia23.123.822.56.9%8.9%4.8%2016
Sri Lanka23.123.722.55.2%7.3%2.9%2016
Mali23.023.122.98.6%12.4%4.6%2016
Senegal23.024.021.88.8%12.9%4%2016
Malawi22.923.222.65.8%9.1%2.2%2016
Guinea22.923.422.47.7%11.5%3.7%2016
Laos22.923.122.75.3%6.7%3.7%2016
Central African Republic22.923.722.07.5%7.2%3.7%2016
Mozambique22.823.422.07.2%10.5%3.3%2016
Japan22.721.823.64.3%3.7%4.8%2016
Sierra Leone22.723.521.98.7%13.3%3.8%2016
Myanmar22.623.022.25.8%7.3%4%2016
Zambia22.623.721.38.1%12.4%3.6%2016
Uganda22.523.321.65.3%8.6%1.8%2016
Nepal22.522.522.54.1%5.4%2.7%2016
Burkina Faso22.222.122.25.6%8.1%2.6%2016
Cambodia22.222.322.13.9%4.8%2.7%2016
Rwanda22.122.821.35.8%9.3%1.9%2016
DR Congo22.022.621.36.7%9.7%3.6%2016
Vietnam21.921.921.92.1%2.6%1.6%2016
Chad21.921.921.96.1%8.9%3.1%2016
India21.821.921.73.9%5.1%2.7%2016
Niger21.822.321.45.5%8.7%2.5%2016
Bangladesh21.722.021.33.6%5%2.3%2016
Burundi21.721.621.85.4%8.6%2.1%2016
Madagascar21.321.121.55.3%7.5%3%2016
Timor Leste21.321.321.33.8%4.9%2.6%2016
Eritrea20.721.120.25%7.6%2%2016
Ethiopia20.621.120.14.5%6.9%1.9%2016
showing: 190 rows

Which country has the highest rate of obesity?

Nauru has the highest obesity rate in the world, with a 61% obesity rate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources