Share of women who are obese in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of women who are obese was 39.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of women who are obese in Costa Rica, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 39.4% for share of women who are obese in 2024. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.1% on the previous year and up 26.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of women who are obese in Costa Rica peaked at 39.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8.2%, in 1980.
That places Costa Rica 50th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of women who are obese in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 8.2% | — |
| 1981 | 8.6% | +5.0% |
| 1982 | 9.0% | +5.0% |
| 1983 | 9.5% | +5.0% |
| 1984 | 9.9% | +5.0% |
| 1985 | 10.4% | +5.0% |
| 1986 | 11.0% | +5.0% |
| 1987 | 11.5% | +4.9% |
| 1988 | 12.1% | +4.9% |
| 1989 | 12.7% | +4.9% |
| 1990 | 13.3% | +4.8% |
| 1991 | 13.9% | +4.7% |
| 1992 | 14.6% | +4.7% |
| 1993 | 15.2% | +4.6% |
| 1994 | 15.9% | +4.5% |
| 1995 | 16.6% | +4.4% |
| 1996 | 17.3% | +4.3% |
| 1997 | 18.0% | +4.2% |
| 1998 | 18.8% | +4.1% |
| 1999 | 19.5% | +4.0% |
| 2000 | 20.3% | +3.8% |
| 2001 | 21.0% | +3.7% |
| 2002 | 21.8% | +3.5% |
| 2003 | 22.5% | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 23.2% | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 24.0% | +3.2% |
| 2006 | 24.7% | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 25.4% | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 26.2% | +3.1% |
| 2009 | 27.0% | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 27.9% | +3.1% |
| 2011 | 28.7% | +3.0% |
| 2012 | 29.6% | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 30.4% | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 31.3% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 32.1% | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 33.0% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 33.8% | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 34.6% | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 35.4% | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 36.2% | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 37.0% | +2.2% |
| 2022 | 37.8% | +2.2% |
| 2023 | 38.6% | +2.1% |
| 2024 | 39.4% | +2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 10.3% | 8.2% | 12.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 16.3% | 13.3% | 19.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 23.6% | 20.3% | 27.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.7% | 27.9% | 35.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.8% | 36.2% | 39.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More gender data for Costa Rica
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 838.24 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -2.49 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 24,787 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 25,901 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 25,098 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 26,214 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 25,387 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, male, interpolated 26,504 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, female, interpolated 25,723 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, male, interpolated 26,841 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of women who are obese in Costa Rica?
- Share of women who are obese in Costa Rica was 39.4% 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 39.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of women who are obese recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.2% in 1980.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of women who are obese?
- Costa Rica ranks 50th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of women who are obese rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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.