Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in South Korea
South Korea: Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese was 2.8% in 2014. ▼ Falling
Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in South Korea, 1975–2014
Source: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 2.8% for share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in 2014. That is the lowest value across all 40 years on record.
The figure is down 6.7% on the previous year and down 40.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in South Korea peaked at 13.2% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 2.8%, in 2014.
South Korea ranks 90th of 198 countries on this measure, 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 | 12.5% | 11.7% | 13.2% | 5 |
| 1980s | 9.6% | 8.0% | 11.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.5% | 5.4% | 7.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.5% | 3.8% | 5.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.2% | 2.8% | 3.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More reference data data for South Korea
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.1 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.7164 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.8996 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2.24 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.9115 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 135 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in South Korea?
- Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in South Korea was 2.8% 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 13.2% in 1975.
- What is the lowest share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.8% in 2014.
- How does South Korea rank for share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese?
- South Korea ranks 90th out of 198 countries with data for 2014.
- Is share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 40.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South 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.