Share of children who are overweight or obese in Syria
Syria: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 11.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Syria, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Syria recorded 11.0% for share of children who are overweight or obese in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.8% on the previous year and down 24.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Syria peaked at 20.1% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 10.6%, in 2021.
Syria ranks 26th of 163 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Syria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 17.7% | — |
| 2001 | 18.3% | +3.4% |
| 2002 | 19.0% | +3.8% |
| 2003 | 19.5% | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 19.9% | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 20.1% | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 20.1% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 19.8% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 19.4% | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 18.9% | -2.6% |
| 2010 | 18.2% | -3.7% |
| 2011 | 17.4% | -4.4% |
| 2012 | 16.6% | -4.6% |
| 2013 | 15.6% | -6.0% |
| 2014 | 14.6% | -6.4% |
| 2015 | 13.7% | -6.2% |
| 2016 | 12.8% | -6.6% |
| 2017 | 12.1% | -5.5% |
| 2018 | 11.6% | -4.1% |
| 2019 | 11.1% | -4.3% |
| 2020 | 10.8% | -2.7% |
| 2021 | 10.6% | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 10.6% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 10.7% | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 11.0% | +2.8% |
Syria compared with similar countries
- Syria's 11.0% is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.3%, 3.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Syria's 11.0% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 8.5%, 1.3× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 19.3% | 17.7% | 20.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.4% | 11.1% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.7% | 10.6% | 11.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Syria
More reference data data for Syria
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1191 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.5377 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3995 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1542 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 16.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 29.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.93 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Syria?
- Share of children who are overweight or obese in Syria was 11.0% 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 Syria?
- The highest recorded value was 20.1% in 2005.
- What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Syria?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.6% in 2021.
- How does Syria rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
- Syria ranks 26th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Syria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Syria 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.