Share of women who are overweight or obese in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Share of women who are overweight or obese was 73.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of women who are overweight or obese in Saudi Arabia, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 73.3% for share of women who are overweight or obese in 2024. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of women who are overweight or obese in Saudi Arabia peaked at 73.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 59.4%, in 1980.
That places Saudi Arabia 32nd 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 overweight or obese in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 59.4% | — |
| 1981 | 59.7% | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 60.1% | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 60.4% | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 60.7% | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 61.0% | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 61.3% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 61.6% | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 62.0% | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 62.3% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 62.6% | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 62.9% | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 63.2% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 63.6% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 63.9% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 64.3% | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 64.8% | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 65.3% | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 65.8% | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 66.3% | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 66.9% | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 67.4% | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 68.0% | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 68.5% | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 69.0% | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 69.4% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 69.8% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 70.2% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 70.5% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 70.9% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 71.2% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 71.5% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 71.7% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 72.0% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 72.3% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 72.5% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 72.7% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 72.9% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 73.0% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 73.1% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 73.2% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 73.2% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 73.2% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 73.3% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 73.3% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 60.8% | 59.4% | 62.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 64.3% | 62.6% | 66.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 69.0% | 66.9% | 70.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 72.3% | 71.2% | 73.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 73.2% | 73.2% | 73.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
- 29 Palau 75.0% compare
- 30 Costa Rica 73.7% compare
- 31 Seychelles 73.3% compare
- 33 Palestine, State of 73.3% compare
- 34 Brunei Darussalam 73.2% compare
- 35 Paraguay 73.0% compare
More gender data for Saudi Arabia
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 8,519 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth 0.7629 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 275,243 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 288,722 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 275,525 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 288,548 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 263,011 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, male, interpolated 275,073 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, female, interpolated 253,491 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, male, interpolated 263,958 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of women who are overweight or obese in Saudi Arabia?
- Share of women who are overweight or obese in Saudi Arabia was 73.3% 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 overweight or obese recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 73.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of women who are overweight or obese recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 59.4% in 1980.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for share of women who are overweight or obese?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 32nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of women who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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 overweight or obese. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
A person is defined as overweight if they have a body-mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 25. BMI is a person's weight in kilograms divided by his height in meters squared.