Eastern Mediterranean · Country profile
Obesity in Iran
24.6% of adults live with obesity (2024). That ranks 87th highest of 199 countries.
24.6%
of adults live with obesity (2024)
Likely range 22.6%–26.6%
Source: WHO
17.3 million
adults with obesity (estimated number)
WHO rate × UN population
Source: WHO; UN WPP 2024
13.9%
of children & teens (5–19) live with obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
#87
highest adult obesity out of 199 countries
#1 = highest share
Source: WHO
The story of Iran in numbers
In 2024, about 24.6% of adults in Iran were living with obesity — about 1 in 4 adults, according to World Health Organization estimates (the likely range is 22.6% to 26.6%). That is roughly 17.3 million people aged 18 and over.
That is higher than the world average of 16.2%, and ranks 87th highest out of 199 countries. It is below the average for WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region (28.8%).
Back in 1980, the figure was 8.2%. Since then it has gone up by 16.4 percentage points — about 3.0 times the 1980 level. In people, that is a change from about 1.5 million to 17.3 million adults, partly because the population itself changed.
Women are more likely to live with obesity than men: 30.4% compared with 18.8%.
Among children and teenagers aged 5 to 19, 13.9% were living with obesity in 2024, compared with 1.1% in 1980 — around 2.9 million young people.
For context, 14.7% of adults had diabetes in 2022, 46.3% of adults did not get enough physical activity in 2022 and the food supply provided about 2,875 calories per person per day in 2023. These numbers don’t prove what causes obesity, but they help paint the picture.
How it changed
Adults with obesity in Iran: men, women and the world
What this meansSince 1980, the share of men went from 3.8% to 18.8%, and women from 12.8% to 30.4%.
- Men
- Women
- World
Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Men | Women | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 3.8% | 12.8% | 5.4% |
| 1985 | 4.6% | 14.4% | 6.0% |
| 1990 | 5.8% | 16.3% | 6.7% |
| 1995 | 7.2% | 18.4% | 7.6% |
| 2000 | 8.9% | 21.1% | 8.7% |
| 2005 | 11.0% | 23.7% | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 13.2% | 25.7% | 11.5% |
| 2015 | 15.4% | 27.7% | 13.0% |
| 2020 | 17.5% | 29.4% | 14.6% |
| 2024 | 18.8% | 30.4% | 16.2% |
Age-standardized WHO estimates. Shaded bands show the 95% uncertainty range.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Children & teens (5–19) with obesity in Iran
What this meansSince 1980, the share of boys went from 0.9% to 16.7%, and girls from 1.3% to 11.0%.
- Boys
- Girls
BMI-for-age more than 2 standard deviations above the WHO growth reference median.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Iran compared (2024)
What this meansHow Iran’s adult obesity rate compares with its region, countries at a similar income level, and the world.
- Eastern Mediterranean (WHO region)28.8%
- Iran24.6%
- Upper-middle income countries16.7%
- World16.2%
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Food supply: calories per person per day in Iran
What this meansThe food available per person went from 1,781 calories a day in 1961 to 2,875 in 2023. This counts food available, not food actually eaten.
- Iran
- World
Countries ranked nearby
- 84. Mongolia25.1%
- 85. Armenia25.0%
- 86. Colombia24.9%
- 87. Iran24.6%
- 88. Pakistan24.5%
- 89. Finland24.2%
- 90. Albania24.1%
Last updated