Share of women who are obese in Denmark
Denmark: Share of women who are obese was 13.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of women who are obese in Denmark, 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 Denmark stood at 13.2%. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.7% on the previous year and up 16.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of women who are obese in Denmark peaked at 13.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.7%, in 1980.
That places Denmark 172nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of women who are obese in Denmark, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 6.7% | — |
| 1981 | 6.8% | +1.3% |
| 1982 | 6.9% | +1.4% |
| 1983 | 7.0% | +1.4% |
| 1984 | 7.1% | +1.4% |
| 1985 | 7.2% | +1.4% |
| 1986 | 7.3% | +1.4% |
| 1987 | 7.4% | +1.5% |
| 1988 | 7.5% | +1.5% |
| 1989 | 7.6% | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 7.8% | +1.6% |
| 1991 | 7.9% | +1.7% |
| 1992 | 8.0% | +1.7% |
| 1993 | 8.2% | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 8.3% | +1.8% |
| 1995 | 8.5% | +1.9% |
| 1996 | 8.7% | +2.0% |
| 1997 | 8.8% | +2.0% |
| 1998 | 9.0% | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 9.2% | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 9.4% | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 9.6% | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 9.7% | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 9.9% | +1.7% |
| 2004 | 10.0% | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 10.2% | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 10.3% | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 10.5% | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 10.6% | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 10.7% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 10.8% | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 11.0% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 11.1% | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 11.2% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 11.3% | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 11.5% | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 11.6% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 11.8% | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 12.0% | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 12.2% | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 12.3% | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 12.5% | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 12.8% | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 13.0% | +1.7% |
| 2024 | 13.2% | +1.7% |
Denmark compared with similar countries
- Denmark's 13.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 27.1%, 49% of the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Denmark's 13.2% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 21.2%, 62% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 7.2% | 6.7% | 7.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.4% | 7.8% | 9.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.1% | 9.4% | 10.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.4% | 10.8% | 12.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.8% | 12.3% | 13.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
More gender data for Denmark
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 936.54 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth 0.1147 % change on previous year (2030)
- Population 5,145 (2030)
- Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) 5,145 (2030)
- Population (UN estimates and projections), annual growth rate 0.2008 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 28,897 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 30,488 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 28,736 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 30,324 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 28,778 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of women who are obese in Denmark?
- Share of women who are obese in Denmark was 13.2% 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 Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 13.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of women who are obese recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.7% in 1980.
- How does Denmark rank for share of women who are obese?
- Denmark ranks 172nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of women who are obese rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Denmark 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.