World’s most obese countries – ranked

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A global ranking of the world’s most obese countries, drawing on the latest data available from the World Health Organisation.

Overweight people in the South Pacific where the worlds most obese countries are located
The world’s most obese countries are located in the South Pacific (Shutterstock)

Obesity has been described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a “global ticking time-bomb with huge potential negative economic and health impacts, especially for the poor.”

In 2020, the World Bank released a report on the state of obesity around the globe. The report draws on data collected during a World Health Organisation study in 2016 about the prevalence of obesity among adults.

The key findings and insights from the new report, along with the complete obesity ranking from 2016, can be found below.

10 most obese countries in the world

These are the 10 most obese countries in the world.

  1. Nauru
  2. Palau
  3. Cook Islands (New Zealand)
  4. Marshall Islands
  5. Tuvalu
  6. Niue (New Zealand)
  7. Kiribati
  8. Tonga
  9. Samoa
  10. Micronesia

Key findings from the study

  • Nauru is the world’s most obese nation with 88.5% of its adult population classified as obese.
  • Vietnam is the world’s least obese nation with 18.3% of its adult population classified as obese.
  • As of 2016, an estimated 44% of adults worldwide – more than 2 billion people – are overweight.
  • Over 70% of them live in low- or middle-income countries, which dispels the myth that obesity is a problem found only in high-income countries.
  • There are over 4 million obesity-related deaths every year.
  • Since 1975, the prevalence of obesity has tripled.
  • The 10 most obese countries in the world are all located in the South Pacific.
  • The estimated annual economic cost of obesity in the USA is $89-212 billion.
Map of the world's most obese countries
The world’s countries by the prevalence (%) of obesity among adults over 18

World’s most obese countries – complete ranking

The table ranks the world’s countries by the prevalence (%) of obesity among adults over 18 years old.

Some countries may have been omitted due to insufficient data.

RankCountry%
1Nauru88.5
2Palau85.1
3Cook Islands84.7
4Marshall Islands83.5
5Tuvalu81.9
6Niue80.0
7Kiribati78.7
8Tonga78.5
9Samoa77.6
10Micronesia75.9
11Kuwait73.4
12Qatar71.7
13Saudi Arabia69.7
14Jordan69.6
15Lebanon67.9
16USA67.9
17UAE67.8
18Libya66.8
19Turkey66.8
20Malta66.4
21Bahrain65.8
22New Zealand65.6
23Mexico64.9
24Iraq64.6
25Australia64.5
26Bahamas64.4
27Israel64.3
28Canada64.1
29Fiji63.8
30Andorra63.7
31UK63.7
32Egypt63.5
33Venezuela63.4
34Chile63.1
35Uruguay62.9
36Argentina62.7
37Oman62.6
38Czechia62.3
39Greece62.3
40Algeria62.0
41Bulgaria61.7
42Costa Rica61.6
43Hungary61.6
44Iran61.6
45Spain61.6
46Tunisia61.6
47Syria61.4
48Dominican Rep.61.2
49Ireland60.6
50Morocco60.4
51Dominica60.3
52El Salvador59.9
53Croatia59.6
54Lithuania59.6
55Belgium59.5
56France59.5
57Belarus59.4
58Montenegro59.4
59Cyprus59.1
60Iceland59.1
61Colombia59.0
62Suriname58.9
63Panama58.8
64Luxembourg58.7
65Cuba58.5
66Italy58.5
67Ukraine58.4
68Norway58.3
69Poland58.3
70Nicaragua58.2
71North Macedonia58.1
72Finland57.9
73Latvia57.8
74Netherlands57.8
75Albania57.7
76Romania57.7
77Peru57.5
78Portugal57.5
79Russia57.1
80Serbia57.1
81Vanuatu57.1
82Germany56.8
83Brazil56.5
84Sweden56.4
85Slovakia56.2
86Bolivia56.1
87Slovenia56.1
88Ecuador56.0
89Guatemala55.9
90Estonia55.8
91Honduras55.8
92Mongolia55.6
93Jamaica55.5
94Denmark55.4
95St. Vincent & Gren.55.0
96Solomon Islands55.0
97Haiti54.9
98Belize54.8
99Armenia54.4
100Austria54.3
101Switzerland54.3
102Georgia54.2
103South Africa53.8
104Azerbaijan53.6
105Kazakhstan53.6
106Paraguay53.5
107Bosnia & Herz.53.3
108Papua New Guinea52.9
109Barbados52.4
110St. Kitts & Nevis52.3
111Moldova51.8
112Turkmenistan51.8
113Grenada51.4
114Guyana49.4
115Yemen48.8
116Kyrgyzstan48.3
117Uzbekistan48.2
118St. Lucia48.1
119Antigua & Barbuda48.0
120Trinidad & Tobago46.0
121Tajikistan45.3
122Botswana43.4
123Malaysia42.5
124Brunei Darussalam41.2
125Namibia40.6
126Gabon40.2
127Lesotho38.7
128Djibouti38.6
129Eswatini38.4
130Zimbabwe38.2
131Seychelles36.8
132Sao Tome & Principe35.4
133Cabo Verde34.8
134Mauritania34.4
135Cameroon33.6
136Thailand32.6
137North Korea32.4
138China32.3
139Mauritius32.3
140Ghana32.0
141Gambia31.9
142Singapore31.8
143Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)31.6
144Congo30.9
145Liberia30.9
146Maldives30.6
147South Korea30.3
148Guinea-Bissau29.9
149Benin29.5
150Nigeria28.9
151Sudan (former)28.9
152Pakistan28.4
153Senegal28.4
154Somalia28.4
155Indonesia28.2
156Mali28.1
157Togo28.1
158Zambia27.8
159Sierra Leone27.7
160Tanzania27.7
161Philippines27.6
162Angola27.5
163Japan27.2
164Bhutan27.1
165Comoros27.1
166Equatorial Guinea26.7
167Guinea26.6
168Mozambique26.4
169Central African Rep.26.2
170Kenya25.5
171Laos25.4
172DR Congo25.3
173Rwanda25.1
174Myanmar24.8
175Madagascar23.9
176Malawi23.4
177Sri Lanka23.3
178Burkina Faso23.2
179Chad23.1
180Afghanistan23.0
181Uganda22.4
182Burundi22.2
183Eritrea22.0
184Niger22.0
185Cambodia21.7
186Timor-Leste21.6
187Nepal21.0
188Ethiopia20.9
189Bangladesh20.0
190India19.7
191Vietnam18.3

Source: World Health Organisation