Chile vs Costa Rica: Mean body mass index (BMI) in women
Chile
28.1
in 2016
Costa Rica
27.9
in 2016
Chile rank
37th
Costa Rica rank
39th
Mean body mass index (BMI) in women over time
- Chile
- Costa Rica
How they compare
Chile currently reports 28.1 against 27.9 in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.2.
Across all 42 years both countries report, Chile has been ahead every year.
Chile ranks 37th and Costa Rica ranks 39th of 190 countries.
Chile has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Chile | Costa Rica | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 25.4 | 22.48 | 2.92 | Chile |
| 1980s | 25.98 | 23.6 | 2.38 | Chile |
| 1990s | 26.62 | 25.21 | 1.41 | Chile |
| 2000s | 27.27 | 26.65 | 0.62 | Chile |
| 2010s | 27.9 | 27.6 | 0.3 | Chile |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher mean body mass index (bmi) in women, Chile or Costa Rica?
- Chile, at 28.1 against 27.9 in Costa Rica as of 2016.
- What is the difference in mean body mass index (bmi) in women between Chile and Costa Rica?
- 0.2, with Chile ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Chile and Costa Rica?
- 42 years are reported by both, from 1975 to 2016.
- How do Chile and Costa Rica rank globally for mean body mass index (bmi) in women?
- Chile ranks 37th and Costa Rica ranks 39th of 190 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) β with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Mean body mass index (BMI) in women. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Body mass index (BMI) is measured as a person's weight in kilograms (kg) divided by her height (in meters), squared. The WHO define a BMI <=18.5 as 'underweight'; 18.5 to <25 as 'normal/healthy'; 25.0 to <30 as 'overweight'; and >30.0 as 'obese'.