Share of men who are obese in South Africa
South Africa: Share of men who are obese was 14.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of men who are obese in South Africa, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 14.5% for share of men who are obese in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of men who are obese in South Africa peaked at 14.6% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 2.4%, in 1980.
South Africa ranks 129th 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 men who are obese in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 2.4% | — |
| 1981 | 2.6% | +8.5% |
| 1982 | 2.8% | +8.6% |
| 1983 | 3.0% | +8.7% |
| 1984 | 3.3% | +8.7% |
| 1985 | 3.6% | +8.7% |
| 1986 | 3.9% | +8.7% |
| 1987 | 4.2% | +8.7% |
| 1988 | 4.6% | +8.6% |
| 1989 | 5.0% | +8.5% |
| 1990 | 5.4% | +8.4% |
| 1991 | 5.9% | +8.2% |
| 1992 | 6.3% | +8.0% |
| 1993 | 6.8% | +7.7% |
| 1994 | 7.3% | +7.4% |
| 1995 | 7.8% | +7.2% |
| 1996 | 8.4% | +6.9% |
| 1997 | 8.9% | +6.6% |
| 1998 | 9.5% | +6.3% |
| 1999 | 10.0% | +5.9% |
| 2000 | 10.6% | +5.6% |
| 2001 | 11.2% | +5.2% |
| 2002 | 11.7% | +4.9% |
| 2003 | 12.2% | +4.5% |
| 2004 | 12.7% | +4.1% |
| 2005 | 13.2% | +3.7% |
| 2006 | 13.6% | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 14.0% | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 14.3% | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 14.4% | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 14.5% | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 14.6% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 14.5% | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 14.5% | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 14.4% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 14.4% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 14.3% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 14.3% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 14.3% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 14.3% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 14.3% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 14.3% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 14.4% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 14.4% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 14.5% | +0.5% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 14.5% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 20.7%, 70% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 14.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.3%, 2.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 3.5% | 2.4% | 5.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 7.6% | 5.4% | 10.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.8% | 10.6% | 14.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.4% | 14.3% | 14.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.4% | 14.3% | 14.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 126 Denmark 15.5% compare
- 127 Eswatini 15.0% compare
- 128 Afghanistan 14.6% compare
- 130 Italy 14.5% compare
- 131 Netherlands 14.2% compare
- 132 Switzerland 13.6% compare
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of men who are obese in South Africa?
- Share of men who are obese in South Africa was 14.5% 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 men who are obese recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 14.6% in 2011.
- What is the lowest share of men who are obese recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.4% in 1980.
- How does South Africa rank for share of men who are obese?
- South Africa ranks 129th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of men who are obese rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa 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 men 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 as having a body-mass index (BMI) equal to, or greater than, 30. BMI is a person's weight (in kilograms) divided by their height (in meters) squared.