Costa Rica vs New Zealand: Mean body mass index (BMI) in women
Costa Rica
27.9
in 2016
New Zealand
28
in 2016
Costa Rica rank
39th
New Zealand rank
38th
Mean body mass index (BMI) in women over time
- Costa Rica
- New Zealand
How they compare
New Zealand currently reports 28 against 27.9 in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.1.
Across all 42 years both countries report, New Zealand has been ahead every year.
Costa Rica ranks 39th and New Zealand ranks 38th of 190 countries.
New Zealand has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | New Zealand | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 22.48 | 23.8 | 1.32 | New Zealand |
| 1980s | 23.6 | 24.56 | 0.96 | New Zealand |
| 1990s | 25.21 | 25.8 | 0.59 | New Zealand |
| 2000s | 26.65 | 26.99 | 0.34 | New Zealand |
| 2010s | 27.6 | 27.74 | 0.1429 | New Zealand |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher mean body mass index (bmi) in women, Costa Rica or New Zealand?
- New Zealand, at 28 against 27.9 in Costa Rica as of 2016.
- What is the difference in mean body mass index (bmi) in women between Costa Rica and New Zealand?
- 0.1, with New Zealand ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and New Zealand?
- 42 years are reported by both, from 1975 to 2016.
- How do Costa Rica and New Zealand rank globally for mean body mass index (bmi) in women?
- Costa Rica ranks 39th and New Zealand ranks 38th of 190 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – 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'.