Share of children who are overweight or obese in Somalia

Somalia: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 2.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
2.5%
Change on year
up 13.6%
World rank
145th
of 163 countries
All-time high
4.9%
in 2000
All-time low
1.9%
in 2018
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

0123452000201220242000: 4.9 %2001: 4.9 %2002: 4.9 %2003: 4.8 %2004: 4.6 %2005: 4.4 %2006: 4.2 %2007: 4 %2008: 3.7 %2009: 3.4 %2010: 3.2 %2011: 2.9 %2012: 2.7 %2013: 2.5 %2014: 2.3 %2015: 2.2 %2016: 2.1 %2017: 2 %2018: 1.9 %2019: 1.9 %2020: 1.9 %2021: 2 %2022: 2.1 %2023: 2.2 %2024: 2.5 %

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 Somalia stood at 2.5%.

That represents a change of up 13.6% on the previous year and up 8.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Somalia peaked at 4.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.9%, in 2018.

That places Somalia 145th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4.4% 3.4% 4.9% 10
2010s 2.4% 1.9% 3.2% 10
2020s 2.1% 1.9% 2.5% 5

Countries ranked near Somalia

  1. 142 Indonesia 2.6% compare
  2. 142 Niger 2.6% compare
  3. 142 Sudan 2.6% compare
  4. 145 Chad 2.5% compare
  5. 147 Burundi 2.4% compare
  6. 148 Central African Republic 2.3% compare
  7. 148 Madagascar 2.3% compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More reference data data for Somalia

All data for Somalia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Somalia?
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Somalia was 2.5% 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 Somalia?
The highest recorded value was 4.9% in 2000.
What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Somalia?
The lowest recorded value was 1.9% in 2018.
How does Somalia rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
Somalia ranks 145th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Somalia?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Somalia 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.