Share of adults who are overweight or obese in Spain
Spain: Share of adults who are overweight or obese was 50.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of adults who are overweight or obese in Spain, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Spain recorded 50.1% for share of adults who are overweight or obese in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.1% on the previous year and down 9.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of adults who are overweight or obese in Spain peaked at 57.5% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 47.5%, in 1980.
That places Spain 126th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 overweight or obese in Spain, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 47.5% | — |
| 1981 | 47.8% | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 48.0% | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 48.3% | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 48.6% | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 48.9% | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 49.1% | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 49.4% | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 49.7% | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 50.0% | +0.6% |
| 1990 | 50.4% | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 50.7% | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 51.0% | +0.7% |
| 1993 | 51.4% | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 51.8% | +0.8% |
| 1995 | 52.3% | +0.9% |
| 1996 | 52.8% | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 53.3% | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 53.8% | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 54.3% | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 54.8% | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 55.3% | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 55.8% | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 56.3% | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 56.7% | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 57.0% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 57.3% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 57.4% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 57.5% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 57.4% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 57.2% | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 56.9% | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 56.5% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 56.0% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 55.6% | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 55.1% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 54.5% | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 54.0% | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 53.4% | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 52.9% | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 52.3% | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 51.8% | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 51.2% | -1.1% |
| 2023 | 50.7% | -1.1% |
| 2024 | 50.1% | -1.1% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 50.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 60.3%, 83% of the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Spain's 50.1% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 56.3%, 89% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 48.7% | 47.5% | 50.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 52.2% | 50.4% | 54.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 56.6% | 54.8% | 57.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 55.2% | 52.9% | 57.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 51.2% | 50.1% | 52.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More reference data data for Spain
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.18 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 11.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.898 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 11.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 10.67 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 11.06 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 52.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.89 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of adults who are overweight or obese in Spain?
- Share of adults who are overweight or obese in Spain was 50.1% 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 Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 57.5% in 2008.
- What is the lowest share of adults who are overweight or obese recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 47.5% in 1980.
- How does Spain rank for share of adults who are overweight or obese?
- Spain ranks 126th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of adults who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain 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.