Share of adults who are obese in Malta
Malta: Share of adults who are obese was 33.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of adults who are obese in Malta, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of adults who are obese in Malta is 33.3%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of adults who are obese in Malta peaked at 33.4% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 21.5%, in 1980.
Malta ranks 49th of 199 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of adults who are obese in Malta, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 21.5% | — |
| 1981 | 21.6% | +0.7% |
| 1982 | 21.8% | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 22.0% | +0.9% |
| 1984 | 22.2% | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 22.5% | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 22.7% | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 22.9% | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 23.2% | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 23.4% | +1.1% |
| 1990 | 23.7% | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 24.0% | +1.2% |
| 1992 | 24.3% | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 24.6% | +1.4% |
| 1994 | 25.0% | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 25.4% | +1.7% |
| 1996 | 25.9% | +1.8% |
| 1997 | 26.4% | +1.9% |
| 1998 | 26.9% | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 27.4% | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 28.0% | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 28.6% | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 29.1% | +2.0% |
| 2003 | 29.7% | +1.9% |
| 2004 | 30.2% | +1.9% |
| 2005 | 30.8% | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 31.3% | +1.6% |
| 2007 | 31.7% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 32.1% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 32.5% | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 32.7% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 33.0% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 33.2% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 33.3% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 33.4% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 33.4% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 33.4% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 33.3% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 33.2% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 33.0% | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 33.0% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 33.0% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 33.1% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 33.2% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 33.3% | +0.2% |
Malta compared with similar countries
- Malta's 33.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 30.0%, 1.1× the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Malta's 33.3% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 30.3%, 1.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 22.4% | 21.5% | 23.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 25.4% | 23.7% | 27.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 30.4% | 28.0% | 32.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.2% | 32.7% | 33.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.1% | 33.0% | 33.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malta
More reference data data for Malta
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0121 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0042 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0205 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0008 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0205 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0404 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0227 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0192 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1009 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0043 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of adults who are obese in Malta?
- Share of adults who are obese in Malta was 33.3% 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 Malta?
- The highest recorded value was 33.4% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of adults who are obese recorded in Malta?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.5% in 1980.
- How does Malta rank for share of adults who are obese?
- Malta ranks 49th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of adults who are obese rising or falling in Malta?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malta 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.