Europe · Country profile
Obesity in Kyrgyzstan
22.0% of adults live with obesity (2024). That ranks 106th highest of 199 countries.
22.0%
of adults live with obesity (2024)
Likely range 20.0%–24.2%
Source: WHO
967 thousand
adults with obesity (estimated number)
WHO rate × UN population
Source: WHO; UN WPP 2024
2.5%
of children & teens (5–19) live with obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
#106
highest adult obesity out of 199 countries
#1 = highest share
Source: WHO
The story of Kyrgyzstan in numbers
In 2024, about 22.0% of adults in Kyrgyzstan were living with obesity — about 1 in 5 adults, according to World Health Organization estimates (the likely range is 20.0% to 24.2%). That is roughly 967 thousand people aged 18 and over.
That is higher than the world average of 16.2%, and ranks 106th highest out of 199 countries. It is about level with the average for WHO’s Europe region (20.9%).
Back in 1980, the figure was 8.0%. Since then it has gone up by 14.0 percentage points — about 2.8 times the 1980 level. In people, that is a change from about 156 thousand to 967 thousand adults, partly because the population itself changed.
Women are more likely to live with obesity than men: 25.5% compared with 18.0%.
Among children and teenagers aged 5 to 19, 2.5% were living with obesity in 2024, compared with 11.0% in 1980 — around 54 thousand young people.
For context, 12.0% of adults had diabetes in 2022, 19.9% of adults did not get enough physical activity in 2022 and the food supply provided about 2,763 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 Kyrgyzstan: men, women and the world
What this meansSince 1980, the share of men went from 7.3% to 18.0%, and women from 8.5% to 25.5%.
- Men
- Women
- World
Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Men | Women | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 7.3% | 8.5% | 5.4% |
| 1985 | 7.0% | 8.9% | 6.0% |
| 1990 | 7.0% | 9.6% | 6.7% |
| 1995 | 7.0% | 10.6% | 7.6% |
| 2000 | 7.2% | 12.0% | 8.7% |
| 2005 | 8.1% | 13.9% | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 9.9% | 16.5% | 11.5% |
| 2015 | 12.4% | 19.6% | 13.0% |
| 2020 | 15.3% | 22.9% | 14.6% |
| 2024 | 18.0% | 25.5% | 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 Kyrgyzstan
What this meansSince 1980, the share of boys went from 14.0% to 2.5%, and girls from 8.1% to 2.4%.
- Boys
- Girls
BMI-for-age more than 2 standard deviations above the WHO growth reference median.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Kyrgyzstan compared (2024)
What this meansHow Kyrgyzstan’s adult obesity rate compares with its region, countries at a similar income level, and the world.
- Kyrgyzstan22.0%
- Europe (WHO region)20.9%
- World16.2%
- Lower-middle income countries12.0%
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Food supply: calories per person per day in Kyrgyzstan
What this meansThe food available per person went from 2,599 calories a day in 1992 to 2,763 in 2023. This counts food available, not food actually eaten.
- Kyrgyzstan
- World
Countries ranked nearby
- 102. Israel22.2%
- 102. Lesotho22.2%
- 102. Turkmenistan22.2%
- 106. Kyrgyzstan22.0%
- 107. Poland21.8%
- 107. Serbia21.8%
- 107. Solomon Islands21.8%
Last updated