Share of overweight men vs. women in Iceland
Iceland: Share of overweight men vs. women was 66.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of overweight men vs. women in Iceland, 1980–2024
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 66.3% for share of overweight men vs. women in 2024. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of overweight men vs. women in Iceland peaked at 66.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 39.6%, in 1980.
That places Iceland 49th 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 overweight men vs. women in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 39.6% | — |
| 1981 | 40.3% | +1.8% |
| 1982 | 41.1% | +1.8% |
| 1983 | 41.8% | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 42.6% | +1.9% |
| 1985 | 43.5% | +2.0% |
| 1986 | 44.3% | +2.0% |
| 1987 | 45.2% | +2.0% |
| 1988 | 46.1% | +2.0% |
| 1989 | 47.0% | +1.9% |
| 1990 | 47.9% | +1.9% |
| 1991 | 48.8% | +1.9% |
| 1992 | 49.7% | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 50.6% | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 51.5% | +1.8% |
| 1995 | 52.4% | +1.7% |
| 1996 | 53.3% | +1.7% |
| 1997 | 54.1% | +1.7% |
| 1998 | 55.0% | +1.6% |
| 1999 | 55.9% | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 56.8% | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 57.6% | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 58.5% | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 59.3% | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 60.1% | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 60.8% | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 61.5% | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 62.1% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 62.6% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 63.0% | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 63.4% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 63.6% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 63.9% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 64.1% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 64.3% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 64.5% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 64.7% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 64.9% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 65.1% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 65.3% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 65.5% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 65.7% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 65.9% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 66.1% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 66.3% | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 43.2% | 39.6% | 47.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 51.9% | 47.9% | 55.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 60.2% | 56.8% | 63.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 64.4% | 63.4% | 65.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 65.9% | 65.5% | 66.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More gender data for Iceland
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 69.14 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -0.228 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 2,155 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 2,290 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 2,184 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 2,324 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 2,211 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, male, interpolated 2,349 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, female, interpolated 2,353 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, male, interpolated 2,500 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of overweight men vs. women in Iceland?
- Share of overweight men vs. women in Iceland was 66.3% 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 overweight men vs. women recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 66.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of overweight men vs. women recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.6% in 1980.
- How does Iceland rank for share of overweight men vs. women?
- Iceland ranks 49th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of overweight men vs. women rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland 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 overweight men vs. women. 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
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.