Data for 2012
Overweight Prevalence in Children Under Five, 2012
2012, as UNICEF’s 2025 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten
This is the share of children under five who are too heavy for their height. It is the other half of what nutritionists call the double burden of malnutrition: in many countries some children are underfed while others are overweight, and both harm health for life.
Overweight Prevalence in Children Under Five, 2012 covers 163 countries on 5 measures. Libya is highest, at 23.006; Niger is lowest, at 0.586. The middle country reads 5.991. Against 2011, 163 values changed (69 up, 94 down), the same countries are covered.
Overweight Prevalence in Children Under Five · Data for 2012
HighestLibya
23.006LowestNiger
0.586Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the lowest end.
01Position · derived
The table
Every country and every column of Overweight Prevalence in Children Under Five, 2012, as published. UNICEF ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.
Showing 25 of 163 countries · select a heading to sort
| derived | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LBYNorthern Africa | 23.006 | 21.6894 | 24.2514 | 19.5790 | 26.832 |
| 2 | UKREastern Europe | 21.434 | 20.1784 | 22.6133 | 10.7617 | 38.163 |
| 3 | ALBSouthern Europe | 20.863 | 19.6199 | 22.0056 | 17.8224 | 24.269 |
| 4 | BIHSouthern Europe | 18.263 | 17.1461 | 19.3036 | 14.8002 | 22.323 |
| 5 | SYRWestern Asia | 16.575 | 15.5511 | 17.5508 | 12.8285 | 21.150 |
| 6 | MNESouthern Europe | 15.202 | 14.2426 | 16.1062 | 12.8421 | 17.907 |
| 7 | TCACaribbean | 15.026 | 14.0980 | 15.9467 | 8.8631 | 24.330 |
| 8 | TONPolynesia | 14.996 | 14.0386 | 15.8802 | 12.0151 | 18.561 |
| 9 | SRBSouthern Europe | 14.782 | 13.8570 | 15.6797 | 12.8334 | 16.969 |
| 10 | ARMWestern Asia | 14.761 | 13.8035 | 15.6196 | 12.5400 | 17.298 |
| 11 | EGYNorthern Africa | 14.529 | 13.6090 | 15.4047 | 12.5251 | 16.793 |
| 12 | DZANorthern Africa | 13.719 | 12.8438 | 14.5557 | 11.8186 | 15.869 |
| 13 | GEOWestern Asia | 13.712 | 12.8307 | 14.5410 | 11.5389 | 16.219 |
| 14 | GRCSouthern Europe | 13.649 | 12.7767 | 14.4811 | 7.7351 | 22.959 |
| 15 | TUNNorthern Africa | 13.577 | 12.6990 | 14.3945 | 11.5695 | 15.871 |
| 16 | AUSAustralia and New Zealand | 13.543 | 12.6739 | 14.3667 | 11.1991 | 16.287 |
| 17 | ZAFSouthern Africa | 13.088 | 12.2508 | 13.8963 | 11.3187 | 15.087 |
| 18 | MKDSouthern Europe | 12.742 | 11.9097 | 13.5162 | 10.6416 | 15.186 |
| 19 | MARNorthern Africa | 12.377 | 11.5691 | 13.1516 | 10.5338 | 14.490 |
| 20 | BRBCaribbean | 11.945 | 11.1683 | 12.6894 | 9.0328 | 15.635 |
| 21 | KAZCentral Asia | 11.779 | 11.0076 | 12.5098 | 10.0035 | 13.821 |
| 22 | PNGMelanesia | 11.744 | 10.9681 | 12.4656 | 8.9488 | 15.266 |
| 23 | AZEWestern Asia | 11.305 | 10.5295 | 11.9747 | 9.6170 | 13.245 |
| 24 | CANNorthern America | 11.048 | 10.3203 | 11.7412 | 5.8836 | 19.791 |
| 25 | PANCentral America | 10.977 | 10.2539 | 11.6669 | 9.0390 | 13.269 |
| 26 | ARGSouth America | 10.877 | 10.1564 | 11.5576 | 8.7218 | 13.486 |
| 27 | TTOCaribbean | 10.749 | 10.0427 | 11.4303 | 8.2085 | 13.957 |
| 28 | COMEastern Africa | 10.575 | 9.8825 | 11.2508 | 8.5406 | 13.025 |
| 29 | BWASouthern Africa | 10.554 | 9.8631 | 11.2291 | 7.2075 | 15.200 |
| 30 | PRYSouth America | 10.469 | 9.7757 | 11.1309 | 8.9107 | 12.262 |
| 31 | RUSEastern Europe | 10.427 | 9.7343 | 11.0845 | 6.7549 | 15.758 |
| 32 | QATWestern Asia | 10.344 | 9.6564 | 10.9971 | 6.6534 | 15.736 |
| 33 | IRLNorthern Europe | 10.268 | 9.5881 | 10.9206 | 7.7175 | 13.537 |
| 34 | IRQWestern Asia | 10.259 | 9.5766 | 10.9076 | 8.6525 | 12.125 |
| 35 | SWZSouthern Africa | 10.195 | 9.5282 | 10.8534 | 8.7649 | 11.828 |
| 36 | MNGEastern Asia | 10.172 | 9.5026 | 10.8247 | 9.0802 | 11.379 |
| 37 | SYCEastern Africa | 10.037 | 9.3725 | 10.6785 | 7.7007 | 12.981 |
| 38 | TURWestern Asia | 10.003 | 9.3352 | 10.6366 | 8.6053 | 11.600 |
| 39 | CHLSouth America | 9.893 | 9.2353 | 10.5245 | 8.6350 | 11.311 |
| 40 | SAUWestern Asia | 9.464 | 8.8219 | 10.0596 | 8.0443 | 11.105 |
| 41 | URYSouth America | 9.298 | 8.6744 | 9.8938 | 8.2421 | 10.474 |
| 42 | CUBCaribbean | 9.154 | 8.5391 | 9.7415 | 5.7250 | 14.326 |
| 43 | THASouth-eastern Asia | 9.093 | 8.4777 | 9.6723 | 7.8110 | 10.561 |
| 44 | BOLSouth America | 8.901 | 8.3037 | 9.4764 | 7.6659 | 10.312 |
| 45 | KWTWestern Asia | 8.779 | 8.1770 | 9.3334 | 8.1609 | 9.439 |
| 46 | BLZCentral America | 8.714 | 8.1258 | 9.2759 | 7.3947 | 10.242 |
| 47 | GNQMiddle Africa | 8.592 | 8.0194 | 9.1561 | 6.3801 | 11.478 |
| 48 | BRNSouth-eastern Asia | 8.503 | 7.9167 | 9.0400 | 6.1478 | 11.649 |
| 49 | PERSouth America | 8.278 | 7.7196 | 8.8178 | 7.7191 | 8.874 |
| 50 | IDNSouth-eastern Asia | 8.277 | 7.7138 | 8.8111 | 7.3057 | 9.364 |
| 51 | MLTSouthern Europe | 8.246 | 7.6848 | 8.7784 | 4.2548 | 15.381 |
| 52 | PRTSouthern Europe | 8.231 | 7.6721 | 8.7642 | 5.8013 | 11.553 |
| 53 | USANorthern America | 8.212 | 7.6538 | 8.7435 | 7.3528 | 9.161 |
| 54 | CMRMiddle Africa | 8.107 | 7.5649 | 8.6432 | 7.0551 | 9.301 |
| 55 | PSEWestern Asia | 7.977 | 7.4376 | 8.4994 | 6.9177 | 9.184 |
| 56 | GBRNorthern Europe | 7.800 | 7.2681 | 8.3079 | 7.2579 | 8.380 |
| 57 | BRASouth America | 7.720 | 7.1944 | 8.2245 | 6.1579 | 9.637 |
| 58 | DOMCaribbean | 7.666 | 7.1439 | 8.1675 | 6.5820 | 8.912 |
| 59 | CRICentral America | 7.600 | 7.0809 | 8.0962 | 5.9790 | 9.615 |
| 60 | KGZCentral Asia | 7.518 | 7.0040 | 8.0092 | 6.5647 | 8.598 |
| 61 | BTNSouthern Asia | 7.064 | 6.5715 | 7.5196 | 5.4943 | 9.039 |
| 62 | LSOSouthern Africa | 7.013 | 6.5378 | 7.4815 | 6.0129 | 8.164 |
| 63 | JAMCaribbean | 6.997 | 6.5178 | 7.4589 | 6.2309 | 7.849 |
| 64 | ECUSouth America | 6.937 | 6.4607 | 7.3941 | 5.9444 | 8.082 |
| 65 | CHNEastern Asia | 6.903 | 6.4044 | 7.3301 | 5.9155 | 8.042 |
| 66 | MEXCentral America | 6.793 | 6.3272 | 7.2429 | 5.9739 | 7.715 |
| 67 | ROUEastern Europe | 6.783 | 6.3176 | 7.2321 | 3.5764 | 12.491 |
| 68 | UZBCentral Asia | 6.771 | 6.3004 | 7.2125 | 5.5542 | 8.231 |
| 69 | KOREastern Asia | 6.652 | 6.1868 | 7.0836 | 5.7824 | 7.642 |
| 70 | LBNWestern Asia | 6.571 | 6.1198 | 7.0077 | 3.5120 | 11.965 |
| 71 | FJIMelanesia | 6.508 | 6.0563 | 6.9357 | 4.8317 | 8.711 |
| 72 | SLVCentral America | 6.452 | 6.0015 | 6.8734 | 5.4434 | 7.633 |
| 73 | GABMiddle Africa | 6.451 | 6.0120 | 6.8855 | 5.1989 | 7.979 |
| 74 | VENSouth America | 6.444 | 5.9979 | 6.8694 | 4.7509 | 8.686 |
| 75 | ZMBEastern Africa | 6.433 | 5.9971 | 6.8686 | 5.4886 | 7.527 |
| 76 | GUYSouth America | 6.390 | 5.9501 | 6.8152 | 5.4827 | 7.435 |
| 77 | BGREastern Europe | 6.355 | 5.9133 | 6.7734 | 4.8938 | 8.216 |
| 78 | RWAEastern Africa | 6.190 | 5.7672 | 6.6076 | 5.4910 | 6.972 |
| 79 | MYSSouth-eastern Asia | 6.167 | 5.7350 | 6.5710 | 5.2226 | 7.270 |
| 80 | JORWestern Asia | 6.078 | 5.6568 | 6.4822 | 5.1604 | 7.147 |
| 81 | LCACaribbean | 6.002 | 5.5845 | 6.4001 | 4.1890 | 8.531 |
| 82 | WSMPolynesia | 5.991 | 5.5726 | 6.3865 | 4.8222 | 7.421 |
| 83 | POLEastern Europe | 5.979 | 5.5619 | 6.3744 | 4.7771 | 7.458 |
| 84 | LVANorthern Europe | 5.900 | 5.4881 | 6.2906 | 3.1351 | 10.830 |
| 85 | SSDEastern Africa | 5.855 | 5.4513 | 6.2487 | 4.4196 | 7.718 |
| 86 | MDVSouthern Asia | 5.776 | 5.3576 | 6.1420 | 4.7435 | 7.015 |
| 87 | MOZEastern Africa | 5.679 | 5.2898 | 6.0652 | 4.8962 | 6.578 |
| 88 | CPVWestern Africa | 5.502 | 5.1183 | 5.8701 | 3.3922 | 8.804 |
| 89 | BLREastern Europe | 5.494 | 5.1077 | 5.8579 | 4.2141 | 7.134 |
| 90 | TJKCentral Asia | 5.218 | 4.8519 | 5.5668 | 4.5781 | 5.941 |
| 91 | TUVPolynesia | 5.205 | 4.8293 | 5.5410 | 3.8794 | 6.951 |
| 92 | MDAEastern Europe | 5.102 | 4.7500 | 5.4508 | 3.9523 | 6.564 |
| 93 | MUSEastern Africa | 5.098 | 4.7431 | 5.4429 | 1.7808 | 13.730 |
| 94 | COGMiddle Africa | 5.074 | 4.7228 | 5.4198 | 4.2388 | 6.063 |
| 95 | HNDCentral America | 5.069 | 4.7131 | 5.4087 | 4.2832 | 5.991 |
| 96 | COLSouth America | 5.052 | 4.6980 | 5.3916 | 4.2806 | 5.954 |
| 97 | KENEastern Africa | 5.005 | 4.6589 | 5.3471 | 4.3446 | 5.760 |
| 98 | CZEEastern Europe | 4.914 | 4.5683 | 5.2437 | 2.5052 | 9.415 |
| 99 | TKMCentral Asia | 4.913 | 4.5677 | 5.2430 | 4.0545 | 5.943 |
| 100 | VUTMelanesia | 4.879 | 4.5329 | 5.2034 | 3.8997 | 6.088 |
| 101 | ESTNorthern Europe | 4.866 | 4.5229 | 5.1919 | 3.5523 | 6.633 |
| 102 | MWIEastern Africa | 4.814 | 4.4834 | 5.1470 | 4.3482 | 5.327 |
| 103 | AFGSouthern Asia | 4.788 | 4.4501 | 5.1090 | 3.9827 | 5.746 |
| 104 | CODMiddle Africa | 4.746 | 4.4186 | 5.0732 | 4.1019 | 5.486 |
| 105 | PAKSouthern Asia | 4.645 | 4.3161 | 4.9562 | 3.9720 | 5.425 |
| 106 | ZWEEastern Africa | 4.533 | 4.2185 | 4.8448 | 4.0445 | 5.078 |
| 107 | GTMCentral America | 4.393 | 4.0849 | 4.6924 | 3.7682 | 5.115 |
| 108 | LTUNorthern Europe | 4.347 | 4.0387 | 4.6396 | 2.3590 | 7.876 |
| 109 | VNMSouth-eastern Asia | 4.344 | 4.0293 | 4.6289 | 3.9197 | 4.811 |
| 110 | TZAEastern Africa | 4.298 | 3.9981 | 4.5933 | 3.8385 | 4.810 |
| 111 | NRUMicronesia | 4.271 | 3.9547 | 4.5436 | 2.8597 | 6.334 |
| 112 | NAMSouthern Africa | 4.249 | 3.9550 | 4.5441 | 3.4202 | 5.268 |
| 113 | GINWestern Africa | 4.160 | 3.8671 | 4.4438 | 3.6675 | 4.715 |
| 114 | IRNSouthern Asia | 4.071 | 3.7803 | 4.3446 | 2.8749 | 5.735 |
| 115 | NLDWestern Europe | 4.047 | 3.7595 | 4.3207 | 2.8902 | 5.639 |
| 116 | UGAEastern Africa | 3.976 | 3.6984 | 4.2510 | 3.5827 | 4.410 |
| 117 | MHLMicronesia | 3.956 | 3.6709 | 4.2194 | 2.5539 | 6.081 |
| 118 | FINNorthern Europe | 3.899 | 3.6225 | 4.1642 | 3.1372 | 4.837 |
| 119 | SURSouth America | 3.766 | 3.4997 | 4.0238 | 3.1145 | 4.547 |
| 120 | SLBMelanesia | 3.553 | 3.2971 | 3.7921 | 2.8313 | 4.450 |
| 121 | BELWestern Europe | 3.534 | 3.2820 | 3.7748 | 2.5320 | 4.913 |
| 122 | HTICaribbean | 3.464 | 3.2191 | 3.7029 | 2.9175 | 4.107 |
| 123 | PHLSouth-eastern Asia | 3.286 | 3.0481 | 3.5070 | 2.9142 | 3.703 |
| 124 | DEUWestern Europe | 3.267 | 3.0331 | 3.4898 | 2.4395 | 4.364 |
| 125 | STPMiddle Africa | 3.139 | 2.9164 | 3.3563 | 2.2939 | 4.281 |
| 126 | AGOMiddle Africa | 3.112 | 2.8926 | 3.3290 | 2.3627 | 4.088 |
| 127 | LBRWestern Africa | 3.101 | 2.8808 | 3.3155 | 2.6823 | 3.583 |
| 128 | OMNWestern Asia | 2.790 | 2.5903 | 2.9824 | 2.3341 | 3.332 |
| 129 | SGPSouth-eastern Asia | 2.730 | 2.5347 | 2.9187 | 1.3079 | 5.611 |
| 130 | SOMEastern Africa | 2.691 | 2.4982 | 2.8768 | 1.9057 | 3.786 |
| 131 | ETHEastern Africa | 2.689 | 2.4953 | 2.8735 | 2.3210 | 3.112 |
| 132 | CAFMiddle Africa | 2.592 | 2.4078 | 2.7731 | 2.2647 | 2.965 |
| 133 | SLEWestern Africa | 2.559 | 2.3773 | 2.7381 | 2.2243 | 2.943 |
| 134 | GHAWestern Africa | 2.557 | 2.3746 | 2.7350 | 2.2349 | 2.924 |
| 135 | SDNNorthern Africa | 2.536 | 2.3542 | 2.7116 | 2.1028 | 3.055 |
| 136 | YEMWestern Asia | 2.396 | 2.2231 | 2.5611 | 2.0320 | 2.824 |
| 137 | TLSSouth-eastern Asia | 2.387 | 2.2134 | 2.5500 | 2.0119 | 2.830 |
| 138 | CIVWestern Africa | 2.347 | 2.1775 | 2.5088 | 2.0218 | 2.723 |
| 139 | TCDMiddle Africa | 2.325 | 2.1584 | 2.4869 | 2.0232 | 2.671 |
| 140 | NGAWestern Africa | 2.306 | 2.1408 | 2.4666 | 2.0160 | 2.636 |
| 141 | LAOSouth-eastern Asia | 2.216 | 2.0563 | 2.3696 | 1.9062 | 2.575 |
| 142 | GNBWestern Africa | 2.206 | 2.0477 | 2.3597 | 1.9341 | 2.514 |
| 143 | INDSouthern Asia | 2.114 | 1.9577 | 2.2563 | 1.7869 | 2.499 |
| 144 | KHMSouth-eastern Asia | 2.052 | 1.9034 | 2.1940 | 1.7490 | 2.406 |
| 145 | BDIEastern Africa | 1.977 | 1.8358 | 2.1163 | 1.6496 | 2.367 |
| 146 | KIRMicronesia | 1.964 | 1.8211 | 2.0993 | 1.2279 | 3.126 |
| 147 | GMBWestern Africa | 1.902 | 1.7653 | 2.0351 | 1.6852 | 2.145 |
| 148 | ERIEastern Africa | 1.891 | 1.7556 | 2.0240 | 1.3818 | 2.583 |
| 149 | MMRSouth-eastern Asia | 1.823 | 1.6903 | 1.9489 | 1.5271 | 2.175 |
| 150 | BENWestern Africa | 1.760 | 1.6334 | 1.8835 | 1.4804 | 2.092 |
| 151 | BGDSouthern Asia | 1.683 | 1.5614 | 1.8007 | 1.5195 | 1.864 |
| 152 | MDGEastern Africa | 1.578 | 1.4646 | 1.6893 | 1.3560 | 1.837 |
| 153 | PRKEastern Asia | 1.563 | 1.4491 | 1.6714 | 1.1786 | 2.071 |
| 154 | MRTWestern Africa | 1.517 | 1.4079 | 1.6241 | 1.3368 | 1.722 |
| 155 | JPNEastern Asia | 1.457 | 1.3505 | 1.5579 | 1.0705 | 1.980 |
| 156 | SENWestern Africa | 1.356 | 1.2575 | 1.4509 | 1.2271 | 1.497 |
| 157 | TGOWestern Africa | 1.341 | 1.2448 | 1.4363 | 1.1784 | 1.526 |
| 158 | MLIWestern Africa | 1.304 | 1.2102 | 1.3964 | 1.1726 | 1.451 |
| 159 | NPLSouthern Asia | 1.287 | 1.1929 | 1.3765 | 1.1186 | 1.480 |
| 160 | DJIEastern Africa | 1.194 | 1.1078 | 1.2784 | 0.9642 | 1.478 |
| 161 | LKASouthern Asia | 1.184 | 1.0981 | 1.2673 | 1.0167 | 1.378 |
| 162 | BFAWestern Africa | 1.012 | 0.9382 | 1.0830 | 0.9134 | 1.121 |
| 163 | NERWestern Africa | 0.586 | 0.5433 | 0.6276 | 0.5346 | 0.643 |
02In 2012
At either end
The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.
Highest
- 1
Libya23.006
- 2
Ukraine21.434
- 3
Albania20.863
- 4
Bosnia and Herzegovina18.263
- 5
Syria16.575
Lowest
- 163
Niger0.586
- 162
Burkina Faso1.012
- 161
Sri Lanka1.184
- 160
Djibouti1.194
- 159
Nepal1.287
A higher value is the worse result. The middle country reads 5.991. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.
Each measure’s ends
Girls (%)
Highest
Libya21.6894
Lowest
Niger0.5433
Middle country: 5.5726
Boys (%)
Highest
Libya24.2514
Lowest
Niger0.6276
Middle country: 6.3865
Lower bound (JME uncertainty interval)
Highest
Libya19.5790
Lowest
Niger0.5346
Middle country: 4.5781
Upper bound (JME uncertainty interval)
Highest
Ukraine38.163
Lowest
Niger0.643
Middle country: 7.633
032011 → 2012
Since 2011
- +0 / −0countries joined / left
- 163values changed, of 163 in both
- 69 · 94rose · fell
- 0unchanged
Rose most
Papua New Guinea10.890 → 11.744+0.854
Australia12.734 → 13.543+0.809
Tunisia12.818 → 13.577+0.759
Trinidad and Tobago10.206 → 10.749+0.543
Saudi Arabia8.976 → 9.464+0.488
04Caveats
Read before you use
One year of the 2025 release
Every year in this series comes from UNICEF’s 2025 release, recalculated on one method, so a change from one year to the next is not a revision. It can differ from what was first published for 2012.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 163 countries has every column.
05The files
Download and cite
- .csv
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163 rows · 9.4 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download child-overweight-2012-nations-inquiry.csv - ↗
The publisher’s original
UNICEF’s own file, on its own site.
.NT_ANT_WHZ_PO2_MOD
What this site changed: Reshaped to one row per country, with its ISO code; no value recalculated, rescaled or rounded. In full
Licence: CC BY 3.0 IGO · what it allows, in plain words
Cite this edition
UNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates) (2012). Overweight Prevalence in Children Under Five, 2012 [data set], describing 2012. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/child-overweight/2012
0625 held
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How it has moved, charted by country