Share of children who are overweight or obese in Bulgaria

Bulgaria: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 5.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
5.5%
Change on year
up 10.0%
World rank
80th
of 163 countries
All-time high
10.4%
in 2002
All-time low
4.3%
in 2019
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

02.557.5102000201220242000: 10.2 %2001: 10.3 %2002: 10.4 %2003: 10.3 %2004: 10.2 %2005: 10 %2006: 9.6 %2007: 9.1 %2008: 8.6 %2009: 8 %2010: 7.4 %2011: 6.9 %2012: 6.4 %2013: 5.9 %2014: 5.5 %2015: 5.1 %2016: 4.8 %2017: 4.6 %2018: 4.4 %2019: 4.3 %2020: 4.3 %2021: 4.4 %2022: 4.6 %2023: 5 %2024: 5.5 %

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

Analysis

Bulgaria recorded 5.5% for share of children who are overweight or obese in 2024.

That represents a change of up 10.0% on the previous year and unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Bulgaria peaked at 10.4% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 4.3%, in 2019.

That places Bulgaria 80th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 9.7% 8.0% 10.4% 10
2010s 5.5% 4.3% 7.4% 10
2020s 4.8% 4.3% 5.5% 5

Countries ranked near Bulgaria

  1. 77 Cambodia 5.7% compare
  2. 78 Belize 5.6% compare
  3. 78 Estonia 5.6% compare
  4. 80 Djibouti 5.5% compare
  5. 80 South Korea 5.5% compare
  6. 80 Uzbekistan 5.5% compare
  7. 80 Vanuatu 5.5% compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More reference data data for Bulgaria

All data for Bulgaria →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Bulgaria?
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Bulgaria was 5.5% 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 Bulgaria?
The highest recorded value was 10.4% in 2002.
What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Bulgaria?
The lowest recorded value was 4.3% in 2019.
How does Bulgaria rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
Bulgaria ranks 80th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Bulgaria?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Bulgaria 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.