Share of children who are overweight or obese in Malta

Malta: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 10.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
10.1%
Change on year
up 1.0%
Rank
34th
of 163 regions
All-time high
10.1%
in 2024
All-time low
6.6%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

02.557.5102000201220242000: 6.6 %2001: 6.8 %2002: 6.9 %2003: 7.1 %2004: 7.2 %2005: 7.4 %2006: 7.5 %2007: 7.7 %2008: 7.8 %2009: 7.9 %2010: 8 %2011: 8.1 %2012: 8.2 %2013: 8.4 %2014: 8.7 %2015: 9 %2016: 9.1 %2017: 9.3 %2018: 9.5 %2019: 9.6 %2020: 9.7 %2021: 9.8 %2022: 9.9 %2023: 10 %2024: 10.1 %

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

Analysis

Malta recorded 10.1% 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 1.0% on the previous year and up 16.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Malta peaked at 10.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.6%, in 2000.

That places Malta 34th out of 163 regions with data for 2024, putting it 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 7.3% 6.6% 7.9% 10
2010s 8.8% 8.0% 9.6% 10
2020s 9.9% 9.7% 10.1% 5

Countries ranked near Malta

  1. 32 Vietnam 10.5% compare
  2. 33 Eswatini 10.2% compare
  3. 34 Kuwait 10.1% compare
  4. 36 Bolivia 9.9% compare
  5. 36 Kyrgyzstan 9.9% compare
  6. 36 Thailand 9.9% compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More reference data data for Malta

All data for Malta →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Malta?
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Malta was 10.1% 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 Malta?
The highest recorded value was 10.1% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Malta?
The lowest recorded value was 6.6% in 2000.
How does Malta rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
Malta ranks 34th out of 163 regions with data for 2024.
Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Malta?
Over the last ten years it is up 16.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malta 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.