Share of men who are overweight or obese in Nigeria
Nigeria: Share of men who are overweight or obese was 27.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of men who are overweight or obese in Nigeria, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of men who are overweight or obese in Nigeria is 27.7%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of men who are overweight or obese in Nigeria peaked at 27.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 4.5%, in 1980.
Nigeria ranks 160th of 199 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of men who are overweight or obese in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 4.5% | — |
| 1981 | 4.8% | +6.4% |
| 1982 | 5.1% | +6.5% |
| 1983 | 5.4% | +6.6% |
| 1984 | 5.8% | +6.6% |
| 1985 | 6.2% | +6.6% |
| 1986 | 6.6% | +6.7% |
| 1987 | 7.0% | +6.7% |
| 1988 | 7.5% | +6.7% |
| 1989 | 8.0% | +6.7% |
| 1990 | 8.6% | +6.8% |
| 1991 | 9.1% | +6.9% |
| 1992 | 9.8% | +6.9% |
| 1993 | 10.4% | +6.8% |
| 1994 | 11.2% | +6.8% |
| 1995 | 11.9% | +6.7% |
| 1996 | 12.7% | +6.6% |
| 1997 | 13.5% | +6.6% |
| 1998 | 14.4% | +6.5% |
| 1999 | 15.3% | +6.3% |
| 2000 | 16.2% | +6.1% |
| 2001 | 17.2% | +5.9% |
| 2002 | 18.2% | +5.6% |
| 2003 | 19.1% | +5.4% |
| 2004 | 20.1% | +5.0% |
| 2005 | 21.0% | +4.6% |
| 2006 | 21.9% | +4.1% |
| 2007 | 22.6% | +3.6% |
| 2008 | 23.3% | +3.1% |
| 2009 | 23.9% | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 24.4% | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 24.8% | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 25.1% | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 25.4% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 25.6% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 25.8% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 26.0% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 26.1% | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 26.3% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 26.5% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 26.7% | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 27.0% | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 27.2% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 27.4% | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 27.7% | +0.9% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 27.7% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 29.9%, 93% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 27.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22.6%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 6.1% | 4.5% | 8.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.7% | 8.6% | 15.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.4% | 16.2% | 23.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.6% | 24.4% | 26.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.2% | 26.7% | 27.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
- 157 Namibia 28.4% compare
- 158 Botswana 28.2% compare
- 159 Mauritania 28.0% compare
- 161 Mali 25.9% compare
- 162 Equatorial Guinea 25.8% compare
- 163 Guinea-Bissau 25.3% compare
More reference data data for Nigeria
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 19.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 5.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.8 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 81.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 121.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 14.27 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of men who are overweight or obese in Nigeria?
- Share of men who are overweight or obese in Nigeria was 27.7% 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 overweight or obese recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 27.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of men who are overweight or obese recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.5% in 1980.
- How does Nigeria rank for share of men who are overweight or obese?
- Nigeria ranks 160th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of men who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria 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 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
A person is defined as overweight if they have a body-mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 25. BMI is a person's weight in kilograms divided by his height in meters squared.