Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, female (% of children under 5) - Country Ranking - Africa

Definition: Prevalence of overweight, female, is the percentage of girls under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations above the median for the international reference population of the corresponding age as established by the WHO's new child growth standards released in 2006.

Source: World Health Organization, Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition. Country-level data are unadjusted data from national surveys, and thus may not be comparable across countries.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Libya 29.10 2014
2 Tunisia 16.50 2018
3 Egypt 15.00 2014
4 Algeria 12.10 2019
5 South Africa 11.60 2017
6 Botswana 10.30 2007
7 Comoros 10.00 2012
7 Seychelles 10.00 2012
9 Cameroon 9.70 2018
10 Morocco 9.30 2017
11 Eswatini 8.90 2014
12 Djibouti 8.50 2012
13 Equatorial Guinea 7.90 2011
14 Congo 7.00 2014
15 Mozambique 6.40 2015
16 Gabon 6.20 2012
17 Lesotho 5.80 2018
18 Guinea 5.60 2018
19 Rwanda 5.40 2020
20 Zambia 5.00 2018
21 Namibia 4.20 2013
21 Liberia 4.20 2019
23 Sierra Leone 4.10 2019
24 Dem. Rep. Congo 3.80 2017
25 Angola 3.60 2015
25 Malawi 3.60 2019
25 Tanzania 3.60 2015
28 Kenya 3.50 2014
29 São Tomé and Principe 3.40 2019
30 Somalia 3.10 2009
31 Sudan 2.80 2014
32 Burundi 2.60 2019
32 Uganda 2.60 2016
34 Senegal 2.50 2019
35 Chad 2.40 2019
36 The Gambia 2.30 2020
36 Eritrea 2.30 2010
38 Ethiopia 2.20 2019
38 Zimbabwe 2.20 2019
40 Benin 1.90 2018
41 Burkina Faso 1.70 2019
42 Mauritania 1.60 2018
42 Togo 1.60 2017
42 Nigeria 1.60 2020
45 Niger 1.50 2019
45 Central African Republic 1.50 2019
47 Ghana 1.30 2017
47 Guinea-Bissau 1.30 2019
49 Madagascar 1.20 2018
50 Côte d'Ivoire 1.10 2016
51 Mali 0.60 2019

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Aggregation method: Linear mixed-effect model estimates

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Estimates of overweight children are also from national survey data. Once considered only a high-income economy problem, overweight children have become a growing concern in developing countries. Research shows an association between childhood obesity and