Mean body mass index (BMI) in women in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Mean body mass index (BMI) in women was 26 in 2016. ▲ Rising
Mean body mass index (BMI) in women in Papua New Guinea, 1975–2016
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for mean body mass index (bmi) in women in Papua New Guinea is 26, measured in 2016. That is the highest value across all 42 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, mean body mass index (bmi) in women in Papua New Guinea peaked at 26 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 20.3, in 1975.
That places Papua New Guinea 104th out of 190 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.
Mean body mass index (BMI) in women in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 20.3 | — |
| 1976 | 20.5 | +1.0% |
| 1977 | 20.7 | +1.0% |
| 1978 | 20.9 | +1.0% |
| 1979 | 21 | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 21.2 | +1.0% |
| 1981 | 21.4 | +0.9% |
| 1982 | 21.5 | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 21.7 | +0.9% |
| 1984 | 21.8 | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 22 | +0.9% |
| 1986 | 22.2 | +0.9% |
| 1987 | 22.3 | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 22.5 | +0.9% |
| 1989 | 22.6 | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 22.8 | +0.9% |
| 1991 | 22.9 | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 23.1 | +0.9% |
| 1993 | 23.2 | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 23.4 | +0.9% |
| 1995 | 23.5 | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 23.6 | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 23.8 | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 23.9 | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 24 | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 24.2 | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 24.3 | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 24.4 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 24.5 | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 24.6 | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 24.8 | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 24.9 | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 25 | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 25.1 | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 25.2 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 25.3 | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 25.4 | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 25.5 | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 25.6 | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 25.8 | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 25.9 | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 26 | +0.4% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 26 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 25.15, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 26 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 26.35, 99% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 20.68 | 20.3 | 21 | 5 |
| 1980s | 21.92 | 21.2 | 22.6 | 10 |
| 1990s | 23.42 | 22.8 | 24 | 10 |
| 2000s | 24.7 | 24.2 | 25.2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.64 | 25.3 | 26 | 7 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More gender data for Papua New Guinea
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 3,665 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth 0.4371 % change on previous year (2030)
- Population 8,006 (2030)
- Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) 8,006 (2030)
- Population (UN estimates and projections), annual growth rate 2.07 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 120,773 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 129,292 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 119,621 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 128,016 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 119,145 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is mean body mass index (bmi) in women in Papua New Guinea?
- Mean body mass index (bmi) in women in Papua New Guinea was 26 in 2016, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest mean body mass index (bmi) in women recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 26 in 2016.
- What is the lowest mean body mass index (bmi) in women recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.3 in 1975.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for mean body mass index (bmi) in women?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 104th out of 190 countries with data for 2016.
- Is mean body mass index (bmi) in women rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Mean body mass index (BMI) in women. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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'.