Share of adults who are overweight in Korea

Korea: Share of adults who are overweight was 36.69 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
36.69
Change on year
up 1.5%
World rank
155th
of 196 countries
All-time high
36.69
in 2024
All-time low
17.58
in 1980
Years of data
45
1980–2024

Share of adults who are overweight in Korea, 1980–2024

0102030401980200220241980: 17.61981: 181982: 18.41983: 18.91984: 19.31985: 19.81986: 20.31987: 20.81988: 21.31989: 21.81990: 22.31991: 22.81992: 23.41993: 23.91994: 24.41995: 24.91996: 25.41997: 25.91998: 26.41999: 26.92000: 27.32001: 27.82002: 28.22003: 28.62004: 28.92005: 29.32006: 29.62007: 29.92008: 30.12009: 30.42010: 30.72011: 30.92012: 31.22013: 31.62014: 322015: 32.42016: 32.82017: 33.32018: 33.82019: 34.22020: 34.72021: 35.22022: 35.62023: 36.22024: 36.7

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2024, share of adults who are overweight in Korea stood at 36.69. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.5% on the previous year and up 14.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of adults who are overweight in Korea peaked at 36.69 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 17.58, in 1980.

Korea ranks 155th of 196 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

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 19.61 17.58 21.79 10
1990s 24.65 22.32 26.88 10
2000s 29.02 27.34 30.41 10
2010s 32.29 30.67 34.22 10
2020s 35.67 34.69 36.69 5

Countries ranked near Korea

  1. 152 Ghana 37.74 compare
  2. 153 Philippines 37.35 compare
  3. 154 Zimbabwe 37.02 compare
  4. 156 Côte d'Ivoire 36.35 compare
  5. 157 Nigeria 35.83 compare
  6. 158 Somalia 35.51 compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Korea

All data for Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of adults who are overweight in Korea?
Share of adults who are overweight in Korea was 36.69 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of adults who are overweight recorded in Korea?
The highest recorded value was 36.69 in 2024.
What is the lowest share of adults who are overweight recorded in Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 17.58 in 1980.
How does Korea rank for share of adults who are overweight?
Korea ranks 155th out of 196 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of adults who are overweight rising or falling in Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 14.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Korea data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of adults who are overweight. 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of adults who are overweight in Korea. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 18 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-adults-who-are-overweight/korea-rep/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-adults-who-are-overweight/korea-rep/">Share of adults who are overweight in Korea</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of adults who are overweight
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 8,955 data points, 1980–2024
Last refreshed