Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in Malawi
Malawi: Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese was 14.0% in 2014. ▼ Falling
Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in Malawi, 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 Malawi stood at 14.0%. That is the lowest value across all 40 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.4% on the previous year and down 12.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in Malawi peaked at 18.8% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 14.0%, in 2014.
Malawi ranks 25th of 198 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 40 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 18.6% | 18.3% | 18.8% | 5 |
| 1980s | 17.9% | 17.6% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 17.2% | 16.8% | 17.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.9% | 15.0% | 16.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.4% | 14.0% | 14.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More reference data data for Malawi
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- Summer temperature anomalies 0.606 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.3659 °C (2026)
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- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.9529 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -0.5269 °C (2025)
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- 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 Malawi?
- Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in Malawi was 14.0% 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 18.8% in 1975.
- What is the lowest share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.0% in 2014.
- How does Malawi rank for share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese?
- Malawi ranks 25th out of 198 countries with data for 2014.
- Is share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi 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.