Share of children who are overweight or obese in Panama

Panama: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 10.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
10.9%
Change on year
down 1.8%
World rank
27th
of 163 countries
All-time high
11.5%
in 2018
All-time low
8.3%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

02.557.51012.52000201220242000: 8.3 %2001: 8.6 %2002: 8.9 %2003: 9.2 %2004: 9.4 %2005: 9.6 %2006: 9.8 %2007: 10 %2008: 10.2 %2009: 10.4 %2010: 10.6 %2011: 10.8 %2012: 11 %2013: 11.1 %2014: 11.3 %2015: 11.3 %2016: 11.4 %2017: 11.4 %2018: 11.5 %2019: 11.5 %2020: 11.4 %2021: 11.4 %2022: 11.2 %2023: 11.1 %2024: 10.9 %

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

Analysis

Panama recorded 10.9% for share of children who are overweight or obese in 2024.

The figure is down 1.8% on the previous year and down 3.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Panama peaked at 11.5% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 8.3%, in 2000.

That places Panama 27th out of 163 countries 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 9.4% 8.3% 10.4% 10
2010s 11.2% 10.6% 11.5% 10
2020s 11.2% 10.9% 11.4% 5

Countries ranked near Panama

  1. 25 China 11.1% compare
  2. 26 Syria 11.0% compare
  3. 27 Brazil 10.9% compare
  4. 27 Seychelles 10.9% compare
  5. 30 Cuba 10.6% compare
  6. 30 Jordan 10.6% compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More reference data data for Panama

All data for Panama →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Panama?
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Panama was 10.9% 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 Panama?
The highest recorded value was 11.5% in 2018.
What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Panama?
The lowest recorded value was 8.3% in 2000.
How does Panama rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
Panama ranks 27th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Panama?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Panama 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.