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
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Ireland, 2000–2024
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 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.9% | — |
| 2001 | 8.1% | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 8.3% | +2.5% |
| 2003 | 8.5% | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 8.7% | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 8.9% | +2.3% |
| 2006 | 9.1% | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 9.3% | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 9.5% | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 9.7% | +2.1% |
| 2010 | 9.9% | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 10.1% | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 10.3% | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 10.4% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 10.6% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 10.7% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 10.8% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 10.9% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 11.0% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 11.1% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 11.1% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 11.2% | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 11.2% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 11.2% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 11.2% | +0.0% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 11.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.6%, 1.3× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 11.2% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 6.6%, 1.7× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
More reference data data for Ireland
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0921 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.87 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 21.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.5015 (2050)
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 countries 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
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.