Share of women who are obese in Sweden
Sweden: Share of women who are obese was 16.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of women who are obese in Sweden, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sweden recorded 16.5% 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 1.4% on the previous year and up 12.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of women who are obese in Sweden peaked at 16.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.5%, in 1980.
That places Sweden 156th 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 Sweden, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 7.5% | — |
| 1981 | 7.6% | +2.3% |
| 1982 | 7.8% | +2.3% |
| 1983 | 8.0% | +2.3% |
| 1984 | 8.2% | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 8.4% | +2.3% |
| 1986 | 8.6% | +2.2% |
| 1987 | 8.8% | +2.2% |
| 1988 | 8.9% | +2.2% |
| 1989 | 9.2% | +2.3% |
| 1990 | 9.4% | +2.3% |
| 1991 | 9.6% | +2.4% |
| 1992 | 9.8% | +2.4% |
| 1993 | 10.1% | +2.5% |
| 1994 | 10.3% | +2.6% |
| 1995 | 10.6% | +2.6% |
| 1996 | 10.9% | +2.7% |
| 1997 | 11.2% | +2.7% |
| 1998 | 11.5% | +2.7% |
| 1999 | 11.8% | +2.6% |
| 2000 | 12.1% | +2.5% |
| 2001 | 12.3% | +2.3% |
| 2002 | 12.6% | +2.1% |
| 2003 | 12.9% | +1.9% |
| 2004 | 13.1% | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 13.3% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 13.5% | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 13.7% | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 13.8% | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 14.0% | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 14.1% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 14.2% | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 14.3% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 14.5% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 14.6% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 14.7% | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 14.9% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 15.1% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 15.2% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 15.4% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 15.6% | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 15.8% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 16.0% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 16.2% | +1.3% |
| 2024 | 16.5% | +1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 8.3% | 7.5% | 9.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.5% | 9.4% | 11.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.1% | 12.1% | 14.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.7% | 14.1% | 15.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.0% | 15.6% | 16.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More gender data for Sweden
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 1,663 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -1.5 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 47,810 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 50,483 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 48,381 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 51,112 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 50,315 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, male, interpolated 53,236 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, female, interpolated 54,852 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, male, interpolated 57,789 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of women who are obese in Sweden?
- Share of women who are obese in Sweden was 16.5% 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 Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 16.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of women who are obese recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.5% in 1980.
- How does Sweden rank for share of women who are obese?
- Sweden ranks 156th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of women who are obese rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sweden 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.