Share of adults who are obese in Japan
Japan: Share of adults who are obese was 5.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of adults who are obese in Japan, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Japan recorded 5.2% 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 3.1% on the previous year and up 32.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of adults who are obese in Japan peaked at 5.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 1980.
Japan ranks 192nd of 199 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.8% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.2% | 2.0% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.0% | 2.6% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.0% | 3.5% | 4.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.9% | 4.6% | 5.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Japan
- 189 Democratic Republic of Congo 5.9% compare
- 190 Bangladesh 5.7% compare
- 191 Rwanda 5.2% compare
- 193 Cambodia 4.9% compare
- 194 Burundi 4.7% compare
- 195 Madagascar 4.1% compare
More reference data data for Japan
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 6,290 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Manure Management 1,291 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 15,608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 19.52 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Burning - Crop residues 0.0529 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure applied to Soils 1,056 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure left on Pasture 1,475 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied to 1,056 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric Fermentat 7,256 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of adults who are obese in Japan?
- Share of adults who are obese in Japan was 5.2% 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 5.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of adults who are obese recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 1980.
- How does Japan rank for share of adults who are obese?
- Japan ranks 192nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of adults who are obese rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan 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.