Western Pacific · Country profile
Obesity in New Zealand
34.0% of adults live with obesity (2024). That ranks 43rd highest of 199 countries.
34.0%
of adults live with obesity (2024)
Likely range 31.4%–36.6%
Source: WHO
1.4 million
adults with obesity (estimated number)
WHO rate × UN population
Source: WHO; UN WPP 2024
18.3%
of children & teens (5–19) live with obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
#43
highest adult obesity out of 199 countries
#1 = highest share
Source: WHO
The story of New Zealand in numbers
In 2024, about 34.0% of adults in New Zealand were living with obesity — about 1 in 3 adults, according to World Health Organization estimates (the likely range is 31.4% to 36.6%). That is roughly 1.4 million people aged 18 and over.
That is higher than the world average of 16.2%, and ranks 43rd highest out of 199 countries. It is above the average for WHO’s Western Pacific region (9.7%).
Back in 1980, the figure was 7.6%. Since then it has gone up by 26.4 percentage points — about 4.5 times the 1980 level. In people, that is a change from about 158 thousand to 1.4 million adults, partly because the population itself changed.
Women are more likely to live with obesity than men: 35.7% compared with 32.3%.
Among children and teenagers aged 5 to 19, 18.3% were living with obesity in 2024, compared with 1.9% in 1980 — around 179 thousand young people.
For context, 9.0% of adults had diabetes in 2022, 18.7% of adults did not get enough physical activity in 2022 and the food supply provided about 3,122 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 New Zealand: men, women and the world
What this meansSince 1980, the share of men went from 6.9% to 32.3%, and women from 8.3% to 35.7%.
- Men
- Women
- World
Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Men | Women | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 6.9% | 8.3% | 5.4% |
| 1985 | 9.2% | 11.0% | 6.0% |
| 1990 | 12.2% | 14.3% | 6.7% |
| 1995 | 16.1% | 18.1% | 7.6% |
| 2000 | 20.5% | 22.2% | 8.7% |
| 2005 | 24.8% | 25.9% | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 27.9% | 29.0% | 11.5% |
| 2015 | 29.8% | 31.5% | 13.0% |
| 2020 | 31.3% | 33.9% | 14.6% |
| 2024 | 32.3% | 35.7% | 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 New Zealand
What this meansSince 1980, the share of boys went from 2.3% to 18.9%, and girls from 1.5% to 17.7%.
- Boys
- Girls
BMI-for-age more than 2 standard deviations above the WHO growth reference median.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
New Zealand compared (2024)
What this meansHow New Zealand’s adult obesity rate compares with its region, countries at a similar income level, and the world.
- New Zealand34.0%
- High income countries24.7%
- World16.2%
- Western Pacific (WHO region)9.7%
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Food supply: calories per person per day in New Zealand
What this meansThe food available per person went from 2,919 calories a day in 1961 to 3,122 in 2023. This counts food available, not food actually eaten.
- New Zealand
- World
Countries ranked nearby
- 40. Antigua and Barbuda34.6%
- 40. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines34.6%
- 42. Bermuda34.1%
- 43. New Zealand34.0%
- 44. Seychelles33.9%
- 45. Libya33.7%
- 46. Syria33.0%
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