Countries by Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male (modeled estimate, % of children under 5)

Australia ranks first with 27.8% of male children under 5 classified as overweight by weight for height, a figure that stands far above the global field. At the bottom, Myanmar records just 0.7%, meaning the gap between first and last spans more than 27 percentage points across 163 countries. The range reflects substantial variation in child nutrition conditions across regions and income levels.

Population & Health category

Ranking 2024

Values shown in %.

Countries by Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male (modeled estimate, % of children under 5)
Rank	Country	%
1	Australia	27.80
2	Papua New Guinea	19.50
3	Turks and Caicos Islands	19.40
4	Tunisia	18.50
5	Albania	17.70
6	Ukraine	16.90
7	Paraguay	16.30
8	Trinidad and Tobago	15.90
9	Argentina	15.10
10	Cameroon	14.40
11	Greece	14.30
11	Uruguay	14.30
13	Algeria	14.10
14	Barbados	13.80
14	Bosnia and Herzegovina	13.80
16	Armenia	13.60
16	South Africa	13.60
18	Mongolia	13.10
19	North Macedonia	13.00
19	Serbia	13.00
21	Botswana	12.20
22	Canada	12.10
23	Egypt	11.90
23	Ireland	11.90
25	China	11.80
26	Syria	11.70
27	Brazil	11.60
27	Seychelles	11.60
29	Panama	11.50
30	Jordan	11.30
31	Cuba	11.20
31	Vietnam	11.20
33	Eswatini	10.90
34	Malta	10.80
35	Kuwait	10.70
36	Bolivia	10.50
36	Kyrgyzstan	10.50
36	Thailand	10.50
39	United States	10.30
40	Brunei	10.10
40	Russia	10.10
40	Tonga	10.10
43	Portugal	10.00
43	Samoa	10.00
45	Peru	9.60
46	Palestine	9.40
47	Chile	9.30
47	Kazakhstan	9.30
47	Oman	9.30
50	Montenegro	9.20
50	Qatar	9.20
52	Poland	9.10
53	El Salvador	9.00
53	Saudi Arabia	9.00
55	Cabo Verde	8.90
56	Nauru	8.70
57	Bhutan	8.50
58	Costa Rica	8.40
59	United Kingdom	8.30
60	Türkiye	8.20
61	Dominican Republic	8.00
61	Equatorial Guinea	8.00
61	Lesotho	8.00
64	Mexico	7.90
65	Fiji	7.80
65	Venezuela	7.80
67	Colombia	7.20
67	Saint Lucia	7.20
69	Latvia	7.10
70	Czechia	7.00
71	Sao Tome and Principe	6.80
71	Zambia	6.80
73	Solomon Islands	6.60
74	Gabon	6.50
74	Liberia	6.50
76	Namibia	6.20
77	Cambodia	6.10
78	Belize	6.00
79	Estonia	5.90
79	South Korea	5.90
79	Uzbekistan	5.90
79	Vanuatu	5.90
83	Bulgaria	5.80
83	Djibouti	5.80
83	Netherlands	5.80
83	Sierra Leone	5.80
87	Republic of Congo	5.70
88	Malaysia	5.60
89	Jamaica	5.40
89	Rwanda	5.40
91	Guyana	5.30
92	Belgium	5.20
93	Angola	5.10
93	Finland	5.10
93	Mauritius	5.10
93	Romania	5.10
93	Tanzania	5.10
93	Turkmenistan	5.10
99	Ecuador	5.00
99	Libya	5.00
101	Iraq	4.90
101	Lithuania	4.90
101	Marshall Islands	4.90
101	Tajikistan	4.90
105	Lebanon	4.80
105	Malawi	4.80
107	Afghanistan	4.70
107	Guinea	4.70
107	Mozambique	4.70
110	Kenya	4.60
111	Azerbaijan	4.50
111	Honduras	4.50
111	Morocco	4.50
111	South Sudan	4.50
111	Uganda	4.50
116	DR Congo	4.40
116	Georgia	4.40
118	Moldova	4.30
118	Tuvalu	4.30
120	Comoros	4.20
120	Haiti	4.20
120	Zimbabwe	4.20
123	Singapore	4.10
124	Benin	4.00
124	Guatemala	4.00
124	Laos	4.00
124	Suriname	4.00
128	Guinea-Bissau	3.90
128	India	3.90
130	Côte d'Ivoire	3.80
130	Togo	3.80
132	Belarus	3.60
132	Ethiopia	3.60
132	North Korea	3.60
135	Germany	3.50
135	Philippines	3.50
137	Maldives	3.30
138	Burkina Faso	3.00
139	Eritrea	2.90
139	Gambia	2.90
139	Iran	2.90
142	Indonesia	2.80
142	Niger	2.80
142	Sudan	2.80
145	Chad	2.60
145	Somalia	2.60
147	Burundi	2.50
147	Madagascar	2.50
149	Central African Republic	2.40
150	Kiribati	2.30
150	Senegal	2.30
152	Pakistan	2.20
153	Japan	2.10
154	Ghana	1.90
154	Nepal	1.90
156	Yemen	1.80
157	Bangladesh	1.70
157	Mauritania	1.70
157	Nigeria	1.70
160	Mali	1.40
161	Timor-Leste	1.30
162	Sri Lanka	1.00
163	Myanmar	0.70

Analysis

This metric measures the prevalence of overweight among male children under 5 years of age, assessed by weight for height, expressed as a percentage and modeled by the World Bank under indicator code SH.STA.OWGH.ME.MA.ZS. Higher values indicate a greater share of young male children classified as overweight. The dataset covers 163 countries with data from 2024, and all 163 data points (100%) are from the last 7 years. Data quality is high, with 100% of values rated as official. Seven extreme outliers were identified using a 3-standard-deviation threshold. The metric is limited to male children and does not capture overweight prevalence among female children or the broader under-5 population.

Australia ranks first at 27.8%, a value that the outlier analysis flags as extreme, sitting well above the next-ranked country. Papua New Guinea ranks 2nd at 19.5%, followed closely by Turks and Caicos Islands at 19.4% (3rd) and Tunisia at 18.5% (4th). Albania (5th, 17.7%) and Ukraine (6th, 16.9%) are among the highest-ranked European nations. Paraguay (7th, 16.3%), Trinidad and Tobago (8th, 15.9%), and Argentina (9th, 15.1%) lead the Latin American entries. Cameroon at 14.4% ranks 10th, making it the highest-ranked sub-Saharan African country in this metric.

In the middle of the ranking, countries such as the United States (39th, 10.3%), Brazil (27th, 11.6%), and China (25th, 11.8%) fall well above the median. Japan ranks 153rd at just 2.1%, while Germany sits at 135th with 3.5%, placing both high-income nations near the bottom of this ranking. India ranks 128th at 3.9%, and Indonesia ranks 142nd at 2.8%. A notable anomaly is that Greece ranks 11th at 14.3% while neighboring Bulgaria ranks 83rd at 5.8%, showing a large divergence between geographically close European nations. Singapore ranks 123rd at just 4.1%, lower than many lower-income countries higher in the table.

Modeled estimates carry inherent uncertainty, particularly for countries with limited or infrequent household survey data. The metric covers only male children under 5 and does not represent total child populations or female children, which limits its use for assessing overall child nutrition. Weight-for-height classifications can vary by the growth reference standard applied. Countries with older underlying survey data may have modeled values that do not reflect recent changes in nutrition conditions. The dataset's range of 0.70% to 27.80% (a spread of 3,871.4%) indicates substantial heterogeneity, and rankings should be interpreted alongside other child nutrition indicators for fuller context.

Methodology

Data are drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code SH.STA.OWGH.ME.MA.ZS, with a reference year of 2024. The metric reports modeled estimates of the prevalence of overweight, weight for height, among male children under 5, expressed as a percentage. The source note definition is incorporated as provided. Coverage includes 163 countries, all of which (100%) have data from within the last 7 years, and 100% of data points carry an official quality rating. Seven extreme outliers were identified using a 3-standard-deviation threshold. The average year-over-year change across the dataset is 3.8%, well within the 50% volatility threshold. Values range from 0.70% (Myanmar) to 27.80% (Australia), a spread of 3,871.4%. Rankings reflect modeled, not directly measured, estimates and should be interpreted with awareness that underlying survey data quality and recency varies by country.

Sources

World Bank