Share of children who are overweight or obese in Zambia
Zambia: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 6.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Zambia, 2000–2024
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 Zambia stood at 6.3%.
That represents a change of up 8.6% on the previous year and up 8.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Zambia peaked at 8.8% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 5.1%, in 2018.
That places Zambia 72nd out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.3% | — |
| 2001 | 8.5% | +2.4% |
| 2002 | 8.7% | +2.4% |
| 2003 | 8.8% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 8.8% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 8.7% | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 8.5% | -2.3% |
| 2007 | 8.2% | -3.5% |
| 2008 | 7.9% | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 7.5% | -5.1% |
| 2010 | 7.2% | -4.0% |
| 2011 | 6.8% | -5.6% |
| 2012 | 6.4% | -5.9% |
| 2013 | 6.1% | -4.7% |
| 2014 | 5.8% | -4.9% |
| 2015 | 5.5% | -5.2% |
| 2016 | 5.3% | -3.6% |
| 2017 | 5.2% | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 5.1% | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 5.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 5.1% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 5.3% | +3.9% |
| 2022 | 5.5% | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 5.8% | +5.5% |
| 2024 | 6.3% | +8.6% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 6.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.5%, 1.4× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 6.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.4% | 7.5% | 8.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.8% | 5.1% | 7.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.6% | 5.1% | 6.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More reference data data for Zambia
- Exchange rate, new LCU per USD extended backward, period average 18.94 (2026)
- Exchange rate, old LCU per USD extended forward, period average 18.94 (2026)
- Official exchange rate, LCU per USD, period average 18.94 (2026)
- Global number of reported disasters by size, gaps filled 0 events (2025)
- Annual precipitation, annual growth rate 40.84 % change on previous year (2025)
- Free country, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Civil liberties rating, per capita 0 units per person (2025)
- Consumer price index 483.32 2010 = 100 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Zambia?
- Share of children who are overweight or obese in Zambia was 6.3% 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 8.8% in 2003.
- What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.1% in 2018.
- How does Zambia rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
- Zambia ranks 72nd out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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.