Share of adults who are overweight or obese in Kuwait
Kuwait: Share of adults who are overweight or obese was 77.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of adults who are overweight or obese in Kuwait, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of adults who are overweight or obese in Kuwait stood at 77.1%.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of adults who are overweight or obese in Kuwait peaked at 77.3% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 54.4%, in 1980.
Kuwait ranks 10th of 199 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of adults who are overweight or obese in Kuwait, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 54.4% | — |
| 1981 | 55.4% | +1.8% |
| 1982 | 56.4% | +1.8% |
| 1983 | 57.4% | +1.8% |
| 1984 | 58.4% | +1.7% |
| 1985 | 59.4% | +1.7% |
| 1986 | 60.4% | +1.7% |
| 1987 | 61.3% | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 62.3% | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 63.3% | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 64.2% | +1.5% |
| 1991 | 65.1% | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 66.0% | +1.4% |
| 1993 | 66.9% | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 67.7% | +1.2% |
| 1995 | 68.5% | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 69.3% | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 70.1% | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 70.9% | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 71.7% | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 72.4% | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 73.1% | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 73.7% | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 74.2% | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 74.7% | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 75.2% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 75.5% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 75.8% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 76.1% | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 76.3% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 76.6% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 76.8% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 76.9% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 77.0% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 77.1% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 77.2% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 77.3% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 77.3% | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 77.2% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 77.2% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 77.1% | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 77.2% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 77.3% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 77.2% | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 77.1% | -0.1% |
Kuwait compared with similar countries
- Kuwait's 77.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 60.3%, 1.3× the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Kuwait's 77.1% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 66.1%, 1.2× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 58.9% | 54.4% | 63.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 68.1% | 64.2% | 71.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 74.7% | 72.4% | 76.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 77.1% | 76.6% | 77.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 77.2% | 77.1% | 77.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
More reference data data for Kuwait
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.092 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2888 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.385 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.001 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.385 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3086 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1086 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0052 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of adults who are overweight or obese in Kuwait?
- Share of adults who are overweight or obese in Kuwait was 77.1% 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 overweight or obese recorded in Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 77.3% in 2022.
- What is the lowest share of adults who are overweight or obese recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.4% in 1980.
- How does Kuwait rank for share of adults who are overweight or obese?
- Kuwait ranks 10th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of adults who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kuwait 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 overweight or 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
Overweight is defined here as a body mass index (BMI) above 25. BMI is a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters.