Share of children who are overweight or obese in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 4.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 4.2% for share of children who are overweight or obese in 2024.
The figure is up 10.5% on the previous year and unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 6.9% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 3.4%, in 2019.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 112th of 163 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.7% | — |
| 2001 | 6.8% | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 6.9% | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 6.9% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 6.8% | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 6.6% | -2.9% |
| 2007 | 6.3% | -4.5% |
| 2008 | 6.1% | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 5.7% | -6.6% |
| 2010 | 5.4% | -5.3% |
| 2011 | 5.1% | -5.6% |
| 2012 | 4.7% | -7.8% |
| 2013 | 4.5% | -4.3% |
| 2014 | 4.2% | -6.7% |
| 2015 | 4.0% | -4.8% |
| 2016 | 3.8% | -5.0% |
| 2017 | 3.6% | -5.3% |
| 2018 | 3.5% | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 3.4% | -2.9% |
| 2020 | 3.4% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3.5% | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 3.6% | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 3.8% | +5.6% |
| 2024 | 4.2% | +10.5% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 4.2% is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.3%, 1.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 4.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 99% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.6% | 5.7% | 6.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.2% | 3.4% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.7% | 3.4% | 4.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric 3,057 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.66 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Burning - Crop 235.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure left on Pasture 1,764 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.82 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure Management 601.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 140.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 11.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure applied to Soils 313.43 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Share of children who are overweight or obese in Democratic Republic of Congo was 4.2% 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 6.9% in 2002.
- What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.4% in 2019.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 112th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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
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About this data
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.