Share of children who are overweight or obese in Ireland

Ireland: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 11.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
11.2%
Change on year
unchanged
Rank
23rd
of 163 regions
All-time high
11.2%
in 2021
All-time low
7.9%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

02.557.5102000201220242000: 7.9 %2001: 8.1 %2002: 8.3 %2003: 8.5 %2004: 8.7 %2005: 8.9 %2006: 9.1 %2007: 9.3 %2008: 9.5 %2009: 9.7 %2010: 9.9 %2011: 10.1 %2012: 10.3 %2013: 10.4 %2014: 10.6 %2015: 10.7 %2016: 10.8 %2017: 10.9 %2018: 11 %2019: 11.1 %2020: 11.1 %2021: 11.2 %2022: 11.2 %2023: 11.2 %2024: 11.2 %

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

Analysis

Ireland recorded 11.2% for share of children who are overweight or obese in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of up 5.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Ireland peaked at 11.2% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 7.9%, in 2000.

Ireland ranks 23rd of 163 regions on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 8.8% 7.9% 9.7% 10
2010s 10.6% 9.9% 11.1% 10
2020s 11.2% 11.1% 11.2% 5

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 20 Serbia 12.2% compare
  2. 21 Botswana 11.5% compare
  3. 22 Canada 11.4% compare
  4. 23 Egypt 11.2% compare
  5. 25 China 11.1% compare
  6. 26 Syria 11.0% compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Ireland?
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Ireland was 11.2% 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 Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 11.2% in 2021.
What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 7.9% in 2000.
How does Ireland rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
Ireland ranks 23rd out of 163 regions with data for 2024.
Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ireland 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.