Share of children who are overweight or obese in Namibia
Namibia: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 5.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Namibia, 2000–2024
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 Namibia stood at 5.8%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 3.6% on the previous year and up 31.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Namibia peaked at 5.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.8%, in 2003.
Namibia ranks 76th of 163 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Namibia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.9% | — |
| 2001 | 3.9% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 3.9% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 3.8% | -2.6% |
| 2004 | 3.9% | +2.6% |
| 2005 | 3.9% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 3.9% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 4.0% | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 4.0% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 4.0% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 4.1% | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 4.2% | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 4.2% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4.3% | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 4.4% | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 4.5% | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 4.6% | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 4.8% | +4.3% |
| 2018 | 4.9% | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 5.0% | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 5.2% | +4.0% |
| 2021 | 5.3% | +1.9% |
| 2022 | 5.5% | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 5.6% | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 5.8% | +3.6% |
Namibia compared with similar countries
- Namibia's 5.8% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.5%, 1.3× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Namibia's 5.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.9% | 3.8% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.5% | 4.1% | 5.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.5% | 5.2% | 5.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
More reference data data for Namibia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0579 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.52 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0157 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.194 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1306 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.82 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0853 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Namibia?
- Share of children who are overweight or obese in Namibia was 5.8% 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 Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was 5.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.8% in 2003.
- How does Namibia rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
- Namibia ranks 76th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Namibia 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.