Prevalence of obesity, male in World

World: Prevalence of obesity, male was 11.1% in 2016. ▲ Rising

Latest (2016)
11.1%
Change on year
up 2.8%
Rank
1st
of 1 groups
All-time high
11.1%
in 2016
All-time low
3.2%
in 1975
Years of data
42
1975–2016

Prevalence of obesity, male in World, 1975–2016

46810121975199520161975: 3.2 % of male population ages 18+1976: 3.3 % of male population ages 18+1977: 3.4 % of male population ages 18+1978: 3.2 % of male population ages 18+1979: 3.3 % of male population ages 18+1980: 3.7 % of male population ages 18+1981: 3.6 % of male population ages 18+1982: 3.9 % of male population ages 18+1983: 4 % of male population ages 18+1984: 4.2 % of male population ages 18+1985: 4.3 % of male population ages 18+1986: 4.4 % of male population ages 18+1987: 4.6 % of male population ages 18+1988: 4.5 % of male population ages 18+1989: 4.7 % of male population ages 18+1990: 5 % of male population ages 18+1991: 5.1 % of male population ages 18+1992: 5.2 % of male population ages 18+1993: 5.3 % of male population ages 18+1994: 5.6 % of male population ages 18+1995: 5.7 % of male population ages 18+1996: 5.9 % of male population ages 18+1997: 6.1 % of male population ages 18+1998: 6.2 % of male population ages 18+1999: 6.5 % of male population ages 18+2000: 6.7 % of male population ages 18+2001: 6.9 % of male population ages 18+2002: 7.1 % of male population ages 18+2003: 7.3 % of male population ages 18+2004: 7.6 % of male population ages 18+2005: 7.8 % of male population ages 18+2006: 8.1 % of male population ages 18+2007: 8.4 % of male population ages 18+2008: 8.6 % of male population ages 18+2009: 8.9 % of male population ages 18+2010: 9.4 % of male population ages 18+2011: 9.5 % of male population ages 18+2012: 9.8 % of male population ages 18+2013: 10.1 % of male population ages 18+2014: 10.4 % of male population ages 18+2015: 10.8 % of male population ages 18+2016: 11.1 % of male population ages 18+

Source: World Health Organization (WHO): Global Health Observatory Data Repository. Measured in % of male population ages 18+.

Analysis

The most recent figure for prevalence of obesity, male in World is 11.1%, measured in 2016. That is the highest value across all 42 years on record.

That represents a change of up 2.8% on the previous year and up 37.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prevalence of obesity, male in World peaked at 11.1% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 3.2%, in 1975.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.

Prevalence of obesity, male in World, year by year

Annual values for Prevalence of obesity, male (% of male population ages 18+) in World, 1975 to 2016.
Year % of male population ages 18+ Change
1975 3.2%
1976 3.3% +3.1%
1977 3.4% +3.0%
1978 3.2% -5.9%
1979 3.3% +3.1%
1980 3.7% +12.1%
1981 3.6% -2.7%
1982 3.9% +8.3%
1983 4.0% +2.6%
1984 4.2% +5.0%
1985 4.3% +2.4%
1986 4.4% +2.3%
1987 4.6% +4.5%
1988 4.5% -2.2%
1989 4.7% +4.4%
1990 5.0% +6.4%
1991 5.1% +2.0%
1992 5.2% +2.0%
1993 5.3% +1.9%
1994 5.6% +5.7%
1995 5.7% +1.8%
1996 5.9% +3.5%
1997 6.1% +3.4%
1998 6.2% +1.6%
1999 6.5% +4.8%
2000 6.7% +3.1%
2001 6.9% +3.0%
2002 7.1% +2.9%
2003 7.3% +2.8%
2004 7.6% +4.1%
2005 7.8% +2.6%
2006 8.1% +3.8%
2007 8.4% +3.7%
2008 8.6% +2.4%
2009 8.9% +3.5%
2010 9.4% +5.6%
2011 9.5% +1.1%
2012 9.8% +3.2%
2013 10.1% +3.1%
2014 10.4% +3.0%
2015 10.8% +3.8%
2016 11.1% +2.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 3.3% 3.2% 3.4% 5
1980s 4.2% 3.6% 4.7% 10
1990s 5.7% 5.0% 6.5% 10
2000s 7.7% 6.7% 8.9% 10
2010s 10.2% 9.4% 11.1% 7

Countries ranked near World

  1. 1 Naoero 71.3% compare
  2. 2 American Samoa 70.6% compare
  3. 3 Tonga 63.9% compare
  4. 4 Tuvalu 57.7% compare

See the full ranking of 197 places →

More gender data for World

All data for World →

Frequently asked questions

What is prevalence of obesity, male in World?
Prevalence of obesity, male in World was 11.1% in 2016, according to World Health Organization (WHO): Global Health Observatory Data Repository.
What is the highest prevalence of obesity, male recorded in World?
The highest recorded value was 11.1% in 2016.
What is the lowest prevalence of obesity, male recorded in World?
The lowest recorded value was 3.2% in 1975.
How does World rank for prevalence of obesity, male?
World ranks 1st out of 1 groups with data for 2016.
Is prevalence of obesity, male rising or falling in World?
Over the last ten years it is up 37.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this World data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization (WHO): Global Health Observatory Data Repository, published as part of Prevalence of obesity, male (% of male population ages 18+). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Prevalence of obesity, male in World. Statizoid, drawing on World Health Organization (WHO): Global Health Observatory Data Repository. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://gender.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-obesity-male-percent-of-male-population-ages-18/world/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://gender.statizoid.com/stat/prevalence-of-obesity-male-percent-of-male-population-ages-18/world/">Prevalence of obesity, male in World</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Prevalence of obesity, male (% of male population ages 18+)
Unit
% of male population ages 18+
Source
World Health Organization (WHO): Global Health Observatory Data Repository
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
197 places, 8,862 data points, 1975–2024
Last refreshed

Prevalence of obesity adult is the percentage of adults ages 18 and over whose Body Mass Index (BMI) is 30 kg/m² or higher. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height, or the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters.