Share of children who are overweight or obese in South Korea
South Korea: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 5.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are overweight or obese in South Korea, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 5.5% for share of children who are overweight or obese in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 14.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in South Korea peaked at 7.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 5.5%, in 2023.
That places South Korea 80th 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.3% | 7.0% | 7.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.3% | 5.8% | 6.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.6% | 5.5% | 5.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More reference data data for South Korea
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.1 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.7164 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.8996 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2.24 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.9115 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 135 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 South Korea?
- Share of children who are overweight or obese in South Korea was 5.5% 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 7.5% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.5% in 2023.
- How does South Korea rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
- South Korea ranks 80th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea 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.