Share of adults who are obese in Greenland
Greenland: Share of adults who are obese was 29.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of adults who are obese in Greenland, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Greenland recorded 29.3% for share of adults who are obese in 2024. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.8% on the previous year and up 18.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of adults who are obese in Greenland peaked at 29.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 9.3%, in 1980.
Greenland ranks 73rd of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of adults who are obese in Greenland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 9.3% | — |
| 1981 | 9.5% | +1.9% |
| 1982 | 9.7% | +2.0% |
| 1983 | 9.9% | +2.1% |
| 1984 | 10.1% | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 10.4% | +2.6% |
| 1986 | 10.7% | +2.9% |
| 1987 | 11.0% | +3.1% |
| 1988 | 11.4% | +3.4% |
| 1989 | 11.8% | +3.7% |
| 1990 | 12.2% | +4.0% |
| 1991 | 12.8% | +4.2% |
| 1992 | 13.3% | +4.2% |
| 1993 | 13.8% | +4.1% |
| 1994 | 14.4% | +4.1% |
| 1995 | 15.0% | +4.0% |
| 1996 | 15.6% | +3.9% |
| 1997 | 16.2% | +3.8% |
| 1998 | 16.8% | +3.8% |
| 1999 | 17.4% | +3.7% |
| 2000 | 18.0% | +3.6% |
| 2001 | 18.7% | +3.4% |
| 2002 | 19.3% | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 19.8% | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 20.4% | +2.9% |
| 2005 | 21.0% | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 21.5% | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 22.0% | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 22.5% | +2.1% |
| 2009 | 22.9% | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 23.3% | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 23.6% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 24.0% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 24.4% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 24.8% | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 25.2% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 25.6% | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 26.0% | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 26.4% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 26.9% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 27.3% | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 27.8% | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 28.2% | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 28.7% | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 29.3% | +1.8% |
Greenland compared with similar countries
- Greenland's 29.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 30.0%, 97% of the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Greenland's 29.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 25.3%, 1.2× the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 10.3% | 9.3% | 11.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.7% | 12.2% | 17.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.6% | 18.0% | 22.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.0% | 23.3% | 26.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.3% | 27.3% | 29.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Greenland
More reference data data for Greenland
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0041 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0.2128 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1141 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0004 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0986 (2019)
- Official exchange rate, LCU per USD, period average 6.82 (2017)
- Annual precipitation, annual growth rate 7.26 % change on previous year (2025)
- Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture, per unit of GDP 0 metric tons per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture, per capita 0.0005 metric tons per person (2024)
- Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture 30 metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of adults who are obese in Greenland?
- Share of adults who are obese in Greenland was 29.3% 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 adults who are obese recorded in Greenland?
- The highest recorded value was 29.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of adults who are obese recorded in Greenland?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.3% in 1980.
- How does Greenland rank for share of adults who are obese?
- Greenland ranks 73rd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of adults who are obese rising or falling in Greenland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Greenland 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 adults who are obese. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Obesity is defined here as a body mass index (BMI) above 30. BMI is a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters.