Share of women who are obese in Australia
Australia: Share of women who are obese was 29.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of women who are obese in Australia, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of women who are obese in Australia stood at 29.7%. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 13.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of women who are obese in Australia peaked at 29.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.4%, in 1980.
Australia ranks 82nd of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of women who are obese in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 7.4% | — |
| 1981 | 7.8% | +6.4% |
| 1982 | 8.3% | +6.3% |
| 1983 | 8.9% | +6.2% |
| 1984 | 9.4% | +6.1% |
| 1985 | 9.9% | +5.9% |
| 1986 | 10.5% | +5.8% |
| 1987 | 11.1% | +5.6% |
| 1988 | 11.7% | +5.5% |
| 1989 | 12.4% | +5.3% |
| 1990 | 13.0% | +5.2% |
| 1991 | 13.7% | +5.1% |
| 1992 | 14.3% | +4.9% |
| 1993 | 15.0% | +4.7% |
| 1994 | 15.7% | +4.5% |
| 1995 | 16.4% | +4.4% |
| 1996 | 17.1% | +4.2% |
| 1997 | 17.7% | +4.0% |
| 1998 | 18.4% | +3.8% |
| 1999 | 19.1% | +3.6% |
| 2000 | 19.7% | +3.3% |
| 2001 | 20.3% | +3.1% |
| 2002 | 20.9% | +2.9% |
| 2003 | 21.4% | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 22.0% | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 22.5% | +2.3% |
| 2006 | 23.0% | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 23.4% | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 23.9% | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 24.3% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 24.7% | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 25.1% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 25.4% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 25.8% | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 26.2% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 26.5% | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 26.9% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 27.3% | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 27.6% | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 28.0% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 28.3% | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 28.7% | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 29.0% | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 29.4% | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 29.7% | +1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 9.7% | 7.4% | 12.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 16.0% | 13.0% | 19.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.1% | 19.7% | 24.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.4% | 24.7% | 28.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.0% | 28.3% | 29.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More gender data for Australia
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 4,759 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -0.0804 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 149,630 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 157,746 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 150,777 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 158,898 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 151,066 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, male, interpolated 159,270 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, female, interpolated 151,529 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, male, interpolated 159,819 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of women who are obese in Australia?
- Share of women who are obese in Australia was 29.7% in 2024, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of women who are obese recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 29.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of women who are obese recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.4% in 1980.
- How does Australia rank for share of women who are obese?
- Australia ranks 82nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of women who are obese rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia 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 Share of women who are obese. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Obesity is defined as having a body-mass index (BMI) equal to, or greater than, 30. BMI is a person's weight (in kilograms) divided by their height (in meters) squared.