Share of children who are overweight in South Korea
South Korea: Share of children who are overweight was 5.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are overweight in South Korea, 2000–2024
Source: UNICEF, World Health Organization and World Bank – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of children aged 0-59 months.
Analysis
In 2024, share of children who are overweight in South Korea stood at 5.5%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 14.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight in South Korea peaked at 7.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 5.5%, in 2023.
South Korea ranks 81st of 163 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Share of children who are overweight in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of children aged 0-59 months | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.5% | — |
| 2001 | 7.5% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 7.5% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 7.4% | -1.3% |
| 2004 | 7.4% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 7.4% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 7.3% | -1.4% |
| 2007 | 7.2% | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 7.1% | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 7.0% | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 6.9% | -1.4% |
| 2011 | 6.8% | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 6.7% | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 6.5% | -3.0% |
| 2014 | 6.4% | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 6.3% | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 6.2% | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 6.0% | -3.2% |
| 2018 | 5.9% | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 5.8% | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 5.7% | -1.7% |
| 2021 | 5.6% | -1.8% |
| 2022 | 5.6% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 5.5% | -1.8% |
| 2024 | 5.5% | +0.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 5.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 8.6%, 64% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 5.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.5%, 1.0× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.3% | 7.0% | 7.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.3% | 5.8% | 6.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.6% | 5.5% | 5.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More reference data data for South Korea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9638 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.9281 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2074 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.13 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are overweight in South Korea?
- Share of children who are overweight in South Korea was 5.5% in 2024, according to UNICEF, World Health Organization and World Bank – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who are overweight recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 7.5% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of children who are overweight recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.5% in 2023.
- How does South Korea rank for share of children who are overweight?
- South Korea ranks 81st out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are overweight rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF, World Health Organization and World Bank – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are overweight. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proportion of children moderately or severely overweight (%).