Share of children who are overweight or obese in Benin

Benin: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 3.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
3.7%
Change on year
up 15.6%
World rank
124th
of 163 countries
All-time high
3.7%
in 2024
All-time low
1.8%
in 2009
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of children who are overweight or obese in Benin, 2000–2024

012342000201220242000: 2.5 %2001: 2.4 %2002: 2.3 %2003: 2.3 %2004: 2.2 %2005: 2.1 %2006: 2 %2007: 1.9 %2008: 1.9 %2009: 1.8 %2010: 1.8 %2011: 1.8 %2012: 1.8 %2013: 1.8 %2014: 1.8 %2015: 1.8 %2016: 1.8 %2017: 1.9 %2018: 2 %2019: 2.1 %2020: 2.3 %2021: 2.5 %2022: 2.8 %2023: 3.2 %2024: 3.7 %

Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Benin recorded 3.7% for share of children who are overweight or obese in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 15.6% on the previous year and up 105.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Benin peaked at 3.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.8%, in 2009.

That places Benin 124th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2.1% 1.8% 2.5% 10
2010s 1.9% 1.8% 2.1% 10
2020s 2.9% 2.3% 3.7% 5

Countries ranked near Benin

  1. 121 Comoros 3.9% compare
  2. 121 Haiti 3.9% compare
  3. 123 Singapore 3.8% compare
  4. 124 Guatemala 3.7% compare
  5. 124 India 3.7% compare
  6. 124 Laos 3.7% compare
  7. 124 Suriname 3.7% compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More reference data data for Benin

All data for Benin →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Benin?
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Benin was 3.7% in 2024, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Benin?
The highest recorded value was 3.7% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Benin?
The lowest recorded value was 1.8% in 2009.
How does Benin rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
Benin ranks 124th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Benin?
Over the last ten years it is up 105.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Benin data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are overweight or obese. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of children who are overweight or obese
Unit
%
Source
World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
163 places, 4,075 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Share of children under five years old that are defined as overweight or obese. A child is classified as overweight if their weight-for-height is more than two standard deviations from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards.