Proportion of children moderately or severely overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Proportion of children moderately or severely overweight was 3.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Proportion of children moderately or severely overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2024
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database. Measured in per pop u5.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 3.9% for proportion of children moderately or severely overweight in 2024.
That represents a change of up 8.3% on the previous year and up 14.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of children moderately or severely overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 5.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 3.1%, in 2017.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 28th of 33 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Proportion of children moderately or severely overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | per pop u5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5.5% | — |
| 2001 | 5.5% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 5.4% | -1.8% |
| 2003 | 5.3% | -1.9% |
| 2004 | 5.2% | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 5.1% | -1.9% |
| 2006 | 4.9% | -3.9% |
| 2007 | 4.7% | -4.1% |
| 2008 | 4.5% | -4.3% |
| 2009 | 4.3% | -4.4% |
| 2010 | 4.1% | -4.7% |
| 2011 | 3.9% | -4.9% |
| 2012 | 3.7% | -5.1% |
| 2013 | 3.5% | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 3.4% | -2.9% |
| 2015 | 3.3% | -2.9% |
| 2016 | 3.2% | -3.0% |
| 2017 | 3.1% | -3.1% |
| 2018 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3.2% | +3.2% |
| 2022 | 3.4% | +6.2% |
| 2023 | 3.6% | +5.9% |
| 2024 | 3.9% | +8.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.0% | 4.3% | 5.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.4% | 3.1% | 4.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.4% | 3.1% | 3.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More infrastructure data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 1.20 billion (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 90.4 per 100 people (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 5.00 million (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 0.4 per 100 people (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per capita 0.0038 units per person (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, annual growth rate -16.67 % change on previous year (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, gaps filled 5.00 million (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per capita 0.9049 units per person (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0.0005 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of children moderately or severely overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Proportion of children moderately or severely overweight in Sub-Saharan Africa was 3.9% in 2024, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest proportion of children moderately or severely overweight recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 5.5% in 2000.
- What is the lowest proportion of children moderately or severely overweight recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.1% in 2017.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for proportion of children moderately or severely overweight?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 28th out of 33 groups with data for 2024.
- Is proportion of children moderately or severely overweight rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Proportion of children moderately or severely overweight (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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