Share of children who are overweight or obese in Kenya

Kenya: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 4.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
4.3%
Change on year
up 7.5%
World rank
110th
of 163 countries
All-time high
7.1%
in 2001
All-time low
3.7%
in 2019
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

024682000201220242000: 7 %2001: 7.1 %2002: 7.1 %2003: 7.1 %2004: 7.1 %2005: 6.9 %2006: 6.7 %2007: 6.5 %2008: 6.2 %2009: 5.9 %2010: 5.6 %2011: 5.3 %2012: 5 %2013: 4.7 %2014: 4.5 %2015: 4.2 %2016: 4 %2017: 3.9 %2018: 3.8 %2019: 3.7 %2020: 3.7 %2021: 3.7 %2022: 3.8 %2023: 4 %2024: 4.3 %

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 Kenya stood at 4.3%.

That represents a change of up 7.5% on the previous year and down 4.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Kenya peaked at 7.1% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 3.7%, in 2019.

That places Kenya 110th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 6.8% 5.9% 7.1% 10
2010s 4.5% 3.7% 5.6% 10
2020s 3.9% 3.7% 4.3% 5

Countries ranked near Kenya

  1. 110 South Sudan 4.3% compare
  2. 112 Azerbaijan 4.2% compare
  3. 112 Democratic Republic of Congo 4.2% compare
  4. 112 Honduras 4.2% compare
  5. 112 Morocco 4.2% compare
  6. 112 Uganda 4.2% compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More reference data data for Kenya

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Kenya?
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Kenya was 4.3% 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 Kenya?
The highest recorded value was 7.1% in 2001.
What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Kenya?
The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 2019.
How does Kenya rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
Kenya ranks 110th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Kenya?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Kenya 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.