Share of children who are overweight or obese in Gambia
Gambia: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 2.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Gambia, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of children who are overweight or obese in Gambia stood at 2.7%.
That represents a change of up 8.0% on the previous year and up 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Gambia peaked at 3.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.8%, in 2013.
Gambia ranks 140th of 163 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Gambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.2% | — |
| 2001 | 3.1% | -3.1% |
| 2002 | 3.0% | -3.2% |
| 2003 | 2.9% | -3.3% |
| 2004 | 2.7% | -6.9% |
| 2005 | 2.6% | -3.7% |
| 2006 | 2.5% | -3.8% |
| 2007 | 2.4% | -4.0% |
| 2008 | 2.2% | -8.3% |
| 2009 | 2.1% | -4.5% |
| 2010 | 2.0% | -4.8% |
| 2011 | 2.0% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1.9% | -5.0% |
| 2013 | 1.8% | -5.3% |
| 2014 | 1.8% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1.8% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1.9% | +5.6% |
| 2020 | 2.0% | +5.3% |
| 2021 | 2.1% | +5.0% |
| 2022 | 2.3% | +9.5% |
| 2023 | 2.5% | +8.7% |
| 2024 | 2.7% | +8.0% |
Gambia compared with similar countries
- Gambia's 2.7% is below the median for low income countries, which is 3.3%, 82% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Gambia's 2.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 64% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.7% | 2.1% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.9% | 1.8% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.3% | 2.0% | 2.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
More reference data data for Gambia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0121 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2798 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.3524 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0232 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.3524 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0407 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0331 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1264 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Gambia?
- Share of children who are overweight or obese in Gambia was 2.7% 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 Gambia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.8% in 2013.
- How does Gambia rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
- Gambia ranks 140th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Gambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Gambia 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.