Share of children who are overweight or obese in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 0.9% in 2024. ▬ Flat

Latest (2024)
0.9%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
162nd
of 163 countries
All-time high
1.2%
in 2008
All-time low
0.9%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

00.250.50.7511.22000201220242000: 0.9 %2001: 1 %2002: 1 %2003: 1 %2004: 1.1 %2005: 1.1 %2006: 1.1 %2007: 1.1 %2008: 1.2 %2009: 1.2 %2010: 1.2 %2011: 1.2 %2012: 1.2 %2013: 1.2 %2014: 1.2 %2015: 1.2 %2016: 1.2 %2017: 1.1 %2018: 1.1 %2019: 1.1 %2020: 1.1 %2021: 1 %2022: 1 %2023: 0.9 %2024: 0.9 %

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 Sri Lanka stood at 0.9%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 25.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Sri Lanka peaked at 1.2% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 2000.

Sri Lanka ranks 162nd of 163 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1.1% 0.9% 1.2% 10
2010s 1.2% 1.1% 1.2% 10
2020s 1.0% 0.9% 1.1% 5

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 160 Mali 1.3% compare
  2. 161 East Timor 1.2% compare
  3. 163 Myanmar 0.6% compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More reference data data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Sri Lanka?
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Sri Lanka was 0.9% 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 Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 1.2% in 2008.
What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 2000.
How does Sri Lanka rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
Sri Lanka ranks 162nd out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is down 25.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Sri Lanka 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.