Costa Rica vs Nicaragua: Share of adults who are overweight or obese
Costa Rica
67.9%
in 2024
Nicaragua
68.3%
in 2024
Costa Rica rank
38th
Nicaragua rank
35th
Share of adults who are overweight or obese over time
- Costa Rica
- Nicaragua
How they compare
Nicaragua currently reports 68.3% against 67.9% in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.4%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 45 shared years of data; in 1980 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 38th and Nicaragua ranks 35th of 199 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 3 and Nicaragua in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Nicaragua | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 36.1% | 36.0% | 0.1% | Costa Rica |
| 1990s | 46.7% | 46.6% | 0.1% | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 56.3% | 56.3% | 0.0% | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 63.2% | 63.4% | 0.2% | Nicaragua |
| 2020s | 67.0% | 67.4% | 0.3% | Nicaragua |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of adults who are overweight or obese, Costa Rica or Nicaragua?
- Nicaragua, at 68.3% against 67.9% in Costa Rica as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of adults who are overweight or obese between Costa Rica and Nicaragua?
- 0.4%, with Nicaragua ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Nicaragua?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2024.
- How do Costa Rica and Nicaragua rank globally for share of adults who are overweight or obese?
- Costa Rica ranks 38th and Nicaragua ranks 35th of 199 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of adults who are overweight or obese. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Overweight is defined here as a body mass index (BMI) above 25. BMI is a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters.