Share of children who are overweight or obese in South Africa
South Africa: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 12.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children who are overweight or obese in South Africa, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 12.8% for share of children who are overweight or obese in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in South Africa peaked at 13.3% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 11.3%, in 2000.
That places South Africa 17th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of children who are overweight or obese in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 11.3% | — |
| 2001 | 11.5% | +1.8% |
| 2002 | 11.6% | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 11.7% | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 11.9% | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 12.0% | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 12.1% | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 12.3% | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 12.5% | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 12.7% | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 12.8% | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 13.0% | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 13.1% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 13.2% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 13.2% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 13.3% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 13.2% | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 13.1% | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 13.0% | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 12.9% | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 12.8% | -0.8% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 12.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 7.5%, 1.7× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 12.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 3.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 12.0% | 11.3% | 12.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.2% | 12.8% | 13.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.0% | 12.8% | 13.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are overweight or obese in South Africa?
- Share of children who are overweight or obese in South Africa was 12.8% 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 13.3% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.3% in 2000.
- How does South Africa rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
- South Africa ranks 17th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa 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.