Share of adults who are obese in Netherlands
Netherlands: Share of adults who are obese was 16.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of adults who are obese in Netherlands, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Netherlands recorded 16.9% for share of adults who are obese in 2024. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and up 5.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of adults who are obese in Netherlands peaked at 16.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.9%, in 1980.
Netherlands ranks 136th 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 Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 6.9% | — |
| 1981 | 7.0% | +2.2% |
| 1982 | 7.2% | +2.3% |
| 1983 | 7.4% | +2.3% |
| 1984 | 7.5% | +2.4% |
| 1985 | 7.7% | +2.4% |
| 1986 | 7.9% | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 8.1% | +2.5% |
| 1988 | 8.3% | +2.6% |
| 1989 | 8.5% | +2.7% |
| 1990 | 8.8% | +2.9% |
| 1991 | 9.1% | +3.1% |
| 1992 | 9.4% | +3.4% |
| 1993 | 9.7% | +3.5% |
| 1994 | 10.1% | +3.7% |
| 1995 | 10.4% | +3.8% |
| 1996 | 10.8% | +3.8% |
| 1997 | 11.3% | +3.8% |
| 1998 | 11.7% | +3.7% |
| 1999 | 12.1% | +3.6% |
| 2000 | 12.5% | +3.5% |
| 2001 | 12.9% | +3.4% |
| 2002 | 13.4% | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 13.7% | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 14.1% | +2.8% |
| 2005 | 14.5% | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 14.8% | +2.3% |
| 2007 | 15.1% | +1.9% |
| 2008 | 15.3% | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 15.5% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 15.6% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 15.8% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 15.9% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 16.0% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 16.0% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 16.1% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 16.2% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 16.3% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 16.4% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 16.4% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 16.5% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 16.6% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 16.7% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 16.8% | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 16.9% | +0.7% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 16.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 30.0%, 56% of the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 16.9% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 25.3%, 67% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 7.7% | 6.9% | 8.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.3% | 8.8% | 12.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.2% | 12.5% | 15.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.1% | 15.6% | 16.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.7% | 16.5% | 16.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More reference data data for Netherlands
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5851 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1102 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 5.83 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.59 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 18.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.6002 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of adults who are obese in Netherlands?
- Share of adults who are obese in Netherlands was 16.9% 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 Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 16.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of adults who are obese recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.9% in 1980.
- How does Netherlands rank for share of adults who are obese?
- Netherlands ranks 136th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of adults who are obese rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Netherlands 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.