Share of children who are overweight or obese in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 7.9% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Costa Rica, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 7.9% for share of children who are overweight or obese in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 3.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Costa Rica peaked at 7.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 7.5%, in 2015.
That places Costa Rica 58th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.8% | 7.7% | 7.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.6% | 7.5% | 7.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.7% | 7.6% | 7.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 56 Nauru 8.2% compare
- 57 Bhutan 8.0% compare
- 59 United Kingdom 7.8% compare
- 60 Turkey 7.7% compare
- 61 Dominican Republic 7.5% compare
- 61 Equatorial Guinea 7.5% compare
- 61 Lesotho 7.5% compare
More reference data data for Costa Rica
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.2864 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.8623 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.1052 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.3865 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.3144 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 143 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Costa Rica?
- Share of children who are overweight or obese in Costa Rica was 7.9% 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 7.9% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.5% in 2015.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
- Costa Rica ranks 58th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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
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.