Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in North Korea
North Korea: Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese was 8.9% in 2014. ▼ Falling
Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in North Korea, 1975–2014
Source: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2014, share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in North Korea stood at 8.9%. That is the lowest value across all 40 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.1% on the previous year and down 13.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in North Korea peaked at 14.2% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 8.9%, in 2014.
That places North Korea 57th out of 198 countries with data for 2014, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 40 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 13.8% | 13.4% | 14.2% | 5 |
| 1980s | 12.2% | 11.2% | 13.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.7% | 10.6% | 11.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.2% | 9.6% | 10.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.2% | 8.9% | 9.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More reference data data for North Korea
- Temperature anomalies by month -2.22 °C (2026)
- Spring temperature anomalies 2.29 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.3103 °C (2026)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 0 (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.9637 °C (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2 °C (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Democracy 1 (2025)
- Precipitation anomalies 127.56 millimeters (2025)
- Free country 0 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in North Korea?
- Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in North Korea was 8.9% in 2014, according to NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 14.2% in 1975.
- What is the lowest share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.9% in 2014.
- How does North Korea rank for share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese?
- North Korea ranks 57th out of 198 countries with data for 2014.
- Is share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 40 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of men (% of adult population), who are underweight, healthy/normal, overweight or obese based on body mass index (BMI). Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person's weight divided by their height squared. The WHO define a BMI <=18.5 as underweight; 18.6 to 25.0 as normal/healthy; 25.1 to 30 as overweight; and >30.0 as obese.