Report: Obesity Rates by Country – 2017

Obesity News

• Written by Editor in Chief
  Published Sep 23, 2017 | Last Updated Aug 18, 2020
• Evidence Based

New research suggests there are about 775 million obese people in the World including adult, children, and adolescents. 

Our research suggests there are nearly 650 million obese adults on the planet, as defined as a body mass index (BMI) over 30. There are also about 125 million obese children and adolescents in the entire world according to a BMI over 30.

The majority of the obesity on the planet resides in a few countries, in fact, the top 10 countries contribute half the entire world’s obesity.

Study Facts:

• World Population: 7,505,257,673
• World Obesity Population : 774,000,000

Top 10 Most Obese Countries (July 1st, 2017)

1. United States of America – 109,342,839
2. China – 97,256,700
3. India – 65,619,826
4. Brazil – 41,857,656
5. Mexico – 36,294,881
6. Russia – 34,701,531
7. Egypt – 28,192,861
8. Turkey – 23,819,781
9. Iran – 21,183,488
10. Nigeria – 20,997,494

Obesity’s Rise in all Countries

Today no one country is immune to obesity. For the past 30 years, obesity has skyrocketed across western countries and small countries. Today in economic rich countries, like the United States, United Kingdom, or Australia, there are fewer countries still touched by obesity including Venezuela, Colombia, Egypt, and more.

Highest Regions for Obesity

• Oceania Islands – The highest propensity of obesity can be seen in Oceania nations such as the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Nauru, Palau, Niue, and the Marshall Islands. It should be noted that even though the high rates of obesity, these countries have significantly less population.
• Middle East – The second highest region is the middle east, with as much as 75% of the population being obese or overweight. Countries include Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, and Kuwait.
• South America – South America continent is home of highly obese countries in terms of absolute numbers including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Chile

Research by the World Health Organization suggest there are an additional 124 million children and adolescents worldwide. While just under 1% of children and adolescents aged 5-19 were obese in 1975, more 124 million children and adolescents (6% of girls and 8% of boys) were obese in 2016.

Most Obese Countries by Percentage:

1. Cook Islands – 50.80%
2. Palau- 47.60%
3. Nauru- 45.60%
4. Samoa- 43.40%
5. Tonga- 43.30%
6. Niue- 43.20%
7. Marshall Islands- 42.80%
8. Qatar- 42.30%
9. Kiribati- 40.60%
10. Tuvalu- 40.30%
11. Kuwait- 39.70%
12. United Arab Emirates- 37.20%
13. Federated States of Micronesia – 37.20%
14. Fij i- 36.40%
15. Bahamas – 36.20%
16. Vanuatu- 35.40%
17. Bahrain – 35.10%
18. Saudi Arabia – 34.70%
19. United States of America – 33.70%
20. Libya – 33.10%

Least Obese Countries by Population:

1. Central African Republic – 5.10%
2. India – 4.90%
3. Uganda – 4.90%
4. Somalia – 4.60%
5. Democratic Republic of the Congo – 4.40%
6. Niger – 4.30%
7. Eritrea – 4.10%
8. Ethiopia – 4.00%
9. Rwanda – 4.00%
10. Bangladesh – 3.60%
11. Vietnam – 3.60%
12. Lao People’s Democratic Republic – 3.50%
13. Japan – 3.30%
14. Nepal – 3.30%
15. Cambodia – 3.20%
16. Myanmar – 2.90%
17. Afghanistan – 2.90%
18. Burundi – 2.60%
19. North Korea – 2.40%
20. Timor-Leste – 2.20%

Rank of Countries by Obesity:

1. United States of America – 73,872,022
2. China – 65,706,627
3. India – 44,332,755
4. Brazil – 28,279,032
5. Mexico – 24,520,821
6. Russian Federation – 23,444,354
7. Egypt – 19,047,097
8. Turkey – 16,092,644
9. Iran – 14,311,564
10. Nigeria – 14,185,907
11. United Kingdom – 12,564,150
12. Germany – 11,150,750
13. France – 10,492,144
14. South Africa – 10,269,254
15. Indonesia – 10,166,097
16. Italy – 8,421,745
17. Argentina – 7,866,203
18. Saudi Arabia – 7,721,811
19. Spain – 7,422,124
20. Pakistan – 7,187,615
21. Colombia – 6,961,233
22. Canada – 6,928,126
23. Algeria – 6,922,805
24. Poland – 6,498,610
25. Iraq – 6,154,283

Find out which country has the highest rate of obesity by population or by percentage.

Rank	Countries	Population Total	Adult Population	Obese Adults	Percentage Obese
1	Cook Islands	17,380	11,742	5,965	50.80%
2	Palau	21,729	14,680	6,988	47.60%
3	Nauru	11,359	7,674	3,499	45.60%
4	Samoa	196,440	132,715	57,598	43.40%
5	Tonga	108,020	72,978	31,600	43.30%
6	Niue	1,618	1,093	472	43.20%
7	Marshall Islands	53,127	35,893	15,362	42.80%
8	Qatar	2,639,211	1,783,051	754,231	42.30%
9	Kiribati	116,398	78,638	31,927	40.60%
10	Tuvalu	11,192	7,561	3,047	40.30%
11	Kuwait	4,136,528	2,794,638	1,109,471	39.70%
12	Federated States of Micronesia	105,544	71,306	26,526	37.20%
12	United Arab Emirates	9,400,145	6,350,738	2,362,475	37.20%
14	Fiji	905,502	611,757	222,680	36.40%
15	Bahamas	395,361	267,106	96,692	36.20%
16	Vanuatu	276,244	186,630	66,067	35.40%
17	Bahrain	1,492,584	1,008,390	353,945	35.10%
18	Saudi Arabia	32,938,213	22,253,057	7,721,811	34.70%
19	United States of America	324,459,463	219,204,813	73,872,022	33.70%
20	Libya	6,374,616	4,306,691	1,425,515	33.10%
21	Lebanon	6,082,357	4,109,240	1,310,848	31.90%
22	Barbados	285,719	193,032	60,419	31.30%
23	Trinidad and Tobago	1,369,125	924,981	287,669	31.10%
24	Oman	4,636,262	3,132,259	967,868	30.90%
24	Antigua and Barbuda	102,012	68,919	21,296	30.90%
26	Jordan	9,702,353	6,554,910	1,999,247	30.50%
27	Andorra	76,965	51,998	15,339	29.50%
27	Turkey	80,745,020	54,551,336	16,092,644	29.50%
29	New Zealand	4,705,818	3,179,251	928,341	29.20%
30	Egypt	97,553,151	65,906,909	19,047,097	28.90%
31	Australia	24,450,561	16,518,799	4,724,377	28.60%
32	Saint Kitts and Nevis	55,345	37,391	10,582	28.30%
33	United Kingdom	66,181,585	44,712,279	12,564,150	28.10%
33	Mexico	129,163,276	87,262,709	24,520,821	28.10%
35	Canada	36,624,199	24,743,309	6,928,126	28.00%
36	Papua New Guinea	8,251,162	5,574,485	1,555,281	27.90%
37	Chile	18,054,726	12,197,773	3,390,981	27.80%
38	Solomon Islands	611,343	413,023	114,407	27.70%
39	Jamaica	2,890,299	1,952,686	531,131	27.20%
40	Tunisia	11,532,127	7,791,105	2,111,389	27.10%
41	Saint Lucia	178,844	120,827	32,502	26.90%
42	South Africa	56,717,156	38,318,111	10,269,254	26.80%
42	Panama	4,098,587	2,769,005	742,093	26.80%
42	Czech Republic	10,618,303	7,173,726	1,922,558	26.80%
45	Uruguay	3,456,750	2,335,380	623,547	26.70%
46	Malta	430,835	291,072	77,425	26.60%
47	Argentina	44,271,041	29,909,515	7,866,203	26.30%
47	Seychelles	94,737	64,004	16,833	26.30%
49	Grenada	107,825	72,847	19,086	26.20%
50	Islamic Republic of Iran	81,162,788	54,833,580	14,311,564	26.10%
50	Suriname	563,402	380,634	99,346	26.10%
52	Lithuania	2,890,297	1,952,685	505,745	25.90%
53	Dominica	73,925	49,944	12,885	25.80%
54	Slovakia	5,447,662	3,680,440	945,873	25.70%
55	Ireland	4,761,657	3,216,975	823,546	25.60%
56	Israel	8,321,570	5,622,053	1,422,379	25.30%
57	Cuba	11,484,636	7,759,020	1,955,273	25.20%
57	Poland	38,170,712	25,788,133	6,498,610	25.20%
59	Slovenia	2,079,976	1,405,232	352,713	25.10%
60	Algeria	41,318,142	27,914,537	6,922,805	24.80%
60	Venezuela	31,977,065	21,603,705	5,357,719	24.80%
62	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	109,897	74,246	18,042	24.30%
62	Costa Rica	4,905,769	3,314,338	805,384	24.30%
64	Russian Federation	143,989,754	97,279,478	23,444,354	24.10%
65	Hungary	9,721,559	6,567,885	1,576,292	24.00%
66	France	64,979,548	43,900,183	10,492,144	23.90%
66	Dominican Republic	10,766,998	7,274,184	1,738,530	23.90%
68	Iraq	38,274,618	25,858,332	6,154,283	23.80%
68	Cyprus	1,179,551	796,905	189,663	23.80%
70	Latvia	1,949,670	1,317,197	312,176	23.70%
70	Spain	46,354,321	31,316,979	7,422,124	23.70%
72	Syrian Arab Republic	18,269,868	12,343,123	2,900,634	23.50%
73	Belarus	9,468,338	6,396,809	1,496,853	23.40%
73	Kazakhstan	18,204,499	12,298,960	2,877,957	23.40%
75	Croatia	4,189,353	2,830,327	659,466	23.30%
76	Bulgaria	7,084,571	4,786,336	1,110,430	23.20%
77	Luxembourg	583,455	394,182	91,056	23.10%
77	Norway	5,305,383	3,584,317	827,977	23.10%
79	Greece	11,159,773	7,539,543	1,726,555	22.90%
79	Guyana	777,859	525,522	120,344	22.90%
81	Iceland	335,025	226,343	51,606	22.80%
82	Estonia	1,309,632	884,787	199,962	22.60%
83	Belize	374,681	253,134	56,955	22.50%
83	Azerbaijan	9,827,589	6,639,519	1,493,892	22.50%
85	Botswana	2,291,661	1,548,246	346,807	22.40%
86	Morocco	35,739,580	24,145,660	5,384,482	22.30%
87	El Salvador	6,377,853	4,308,877	939,335	21.80%
88	Romania	19,679,306	13,295,339	2,885,089	21.70%
89	Peru	32,165,485	21,731,002	4,585,241	21.10%
90	Colombia	49,065,615	33,148,729	6,961,233	21.00%
90	Italy	59,359,900	40,103,548	8,421,745	21.00%
92	Georgia	3,912,061	2,642,988	549,742	20.80%
93	Finland	5,523,231	3,731,495	768,688	20.60%
94	Sweden	9,910,701	6,695,670	1,372,612	20.50%
95	Turkmenistan	5,758,075	3,890,155	781,921	20.10%
95	Portugal	10,329,506	6,978,614	1,402,701	20.10%
95	Belgium	11,429,336	7,721,659	1,559,775	20.20%
95	Ukraine	44,222,947	29,877,023	6,005,282	20.10%
95	Germany	82,114,224	55,476,370	11,150,750	20.10%
100	Montenegro	628,960	424,925	84,985	20.00%
100	Brazil	209,288,278	141,395,161	28,279,032	20.00%
102	Netherlands	17,035,938	11,509,480	2,278,877	19.80%
103	The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	2,083,160	1,407,383	275,847	19.60%
104	Armenia	2,930,450	1,979,812	386,063	19.50%
104	Serbia	8,790,574	5,938,912	1,158,088	19.50%
106	Switzerland	8,476,005	5,726,389	1,110,919	19.40%
107	Denmark	5,733,551	3,873,587	747,602	19.30%
108	Namibia	2,533,794	1,711,831	323,536	18.90%
109	Ecuador	16,624,858	11,231,754	2,100,338	18.70%
110	Guatemala	16,913,503	11,426,763	2,125,378	18.60%
111	Austria	8,735,453	5,901,672	1,085,908	18.40%
112	Honduras	9,265,067	6,259,479	1,139,225	18.20%
113	Brunei Darussalam	428,697	289,628	52,423	18.10%
114	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3,507,017	2,369,341	424,112	17.90%
114	Mauritius	1,265,138	854,727	152,996	17.90%
116	Swaziland	1,367,254	923,717	163,498	17.70%
117	Albania	2,930,187	1,979,634	348,416	17.60%
117	Gabon	2,025,137	1,368,183	240,800	17.60%
119	Equatorial Guinea	1,267,689	856,451	149,879	17.50%
120	Yemen	28,250,420	19,085,984	3,282,789	17.20%
121	Plurinational State of Boliviab	11,051,600	7,466,461	1,276,765	17.10%
121	Nicaragua	6,217,581	4,200,598	718,302	17.10%
123	Mongolia	3,075,647	2,077,907	347,010	16.70%
124	Paraguay	6,811,297	4,601,712	750,079	16.30%
125	Izbekistan	31,910,641	21,558,829	3,341,619	15.50%
126	Republic of Moldova	4,051,212	2,736,999	407,813	14.90%
127	Kyrgyzstan	6,045,117	4,084,081	588,108	14.40%
128	Lesotho	2,233,339	1,508,844	214,256	14.20%
129	Tajikistan	8,921,343	6,027,259	819,707	13.60%
130	Malaysia	31,624,264	21,365,353	2,841,592	13.30%
131	Cabo Verde	546,388	369,140	47,988	13.00%
132	Sao Tome and Principe	204,327	138,043	16,979	12.30%
133	Ghana	28,833,629	19,480,000	2,376,560	12.20%
134	Haiti	10,981,229	7,418,918	882,851	11.90%
135	Cameroon	24,053,727	16,250,698	1,852,580	11.40%
136	Nigeria	190,886,311	128,962,792	14,185,907	11.00%
136	Congo	5,260,750	3,554,163	390,958	11.00%
138	Gambia	2,100,568	1,419,144	154,687	10.90%
139	Zimbabwe	16,529,904	11,167,603	1,172,598	10.50%
140	Angola	29,784,193	20,122,201	2,052,464	10.20%
141	Senegal	15,850,567	10,708,643	1,049,447	9.80%
142	Mauritania	4,420,184	2,986,276	289,669	9.70%
143	Djibouti	956,985	646,539	62,068	9.60%
144	Benin	11,175,692	7,550,298	702,178	9.30%
145	Cote d'Ivoire	24,294,750	16,413,533	1,510,045	9.20%
146	Zambia	17,094,130	11,548,794	1,027,843	8.90%
147	Thailand	69,037,513	46,641,744	3,964,548	8.50%
148	Chad	14,899,994	10,066,436	815,381	8.10%
149	Maldives	436,330	294,785	23,288	7.90%
150	Sierra Leone	7,557,212	5,105,652	388,030	7.60%
151	Togo	7,797,694	5,268,122	395,109	7.50%
151	Sudan	40,533,330	27,384,318	2,053,824	7.50%
151	South Sudan	12,575,714	8,496,152	637,211	7.50%
154	Guinea-Bissau	1,861,283	1,257,483	90,539	7.20%
155	United Republic of Tanzania	57,310,019	38,718,649	2,749,024	7.10%
156	Kenya	49,699,862	33,577,227	2,350,406	7.00%
157	China	1,409,517,397	952,269,953	65,706,627	6.90%
158	Guinea	12,717,176	8,591,724	584,237	6.80%
158	Mali	18,541,980	12,526,962	851,833	6.80%
160	Bhutan	807,610	545,621	36,557	6.70%
161	Comoros	813,912	549,879	36,292	6.60%
161	Liberia	4,731,906	3,196,876	210,994	6.60%
163	Sri Lanka	20,876,917	14,104,445	916,789	6.50%
164	Burkina Faso	19,193,382	12,967,049	816,924	6.30%
165	Singapore	5,708,844	3,856,895	239,127	6.20%
166	Republic of Korea	50,982,212	34,443,582	1,997,728	5.80%
167	Indonesia	263,991,379	178,352,576	10,166,097	5.70%
168	Pakistan	197,015,955	133,103,979	7,187,615	5.40%
168	Madagascar	25,570,895	17,275,697	932,888	5.40%
170	Mozambique	29,668,834	20,044,264	1,062,346	5.30%
170	Malawi	18,622,104	12,581,093	666,798	5.30%
172	Philippines	104,918,090	70,882,662	3,615,016	5.10%
172	Central African Republic	4,659,080	3,147,674	160,531	5.10%
174	Uganda	42,862,958	28,958,214	1,418,953	4.90%
174	India	1,339,180,127	904,750,094	44,332,755	4.90%
176	Somalia	14,742,523	9,960,049	458,162	4.60%
177	Democratic Republic of the Congo	81,339,988	54,953,296	2,417,945	4.40%
178	Niger	21,477,348	14,510,096	623,934	4.30%
179	Eritrea	5,068,831	3,424,502	140,405	4.10%
180	Ethiopia	104,957,438	70,909,245	2,836,370	4.00%
180	Rwanda	12,208,407	8,248,000	329,920	4.00%
182	Vietnam	95,540,800	64,547,364	2,323,705	3.60%
182	Bangladesh	164,669,751	111,250,884	4,005,032	3.60%
184	Lao People's Democratic Republic	6,858,160	4,633,373	162,168	3.50%
185	Japan	127,484,450	86,128,494	2,842,240	3.30%
185	Nepal	29,304,998	19,798,457	653,349	3.30%
187	Cambodia	16,005,373	10,813,230	346,023	3.20%
188	Afghanistan	35,530,081	24,004,123	696,120	2.90%
188	Myanmar	53,370,609	36,057,183	1,045,658	2.90%
190	Burundi	10,864,245	7,339,884	190,837	2.60%
191	North Korea	25,490,965	17,221,696	413,321	2.40%
192	Timor-Leste	1,296,311	875,788	19,267	2.20%