Western Pacific · Country profile
Obesity in Papua New Guinea
28.0% of adults live with obesity (2024). That ranks 73rd highest of 199 countries.
28.0%
of adults live with obesity (2024)
Likely range 19.5%–37.6%
Source: WHO
1.8 million
adults with obesity (estimated number)
WHO rate × UN population
Source: WHO; UN WPP 2024
12.1%
of children & teens (5–19) live with obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
#73
highest adult obesity out of 199 countries
#1 = highest share
Source: WHO
The story of Papua New Guinea in numbers
In 2024, about 28.0% of adults in Papua New Guinea were living with obesity — about 1 in 4 adults, according to World Health Organization estimates (the likely range is 19.5% to 37.6%). That is roughly 1.8 million people aged 18 and over.
That is higher than the world average of 16.2%, and ranks 73rd highest out of 199 countries. It is above the average for WHO’s Western Pacific region (9.7%).
Back in 1980, the figure was 10.1%. Since then it has gone up by 17.9 percentage points — about 2.8 times the 1980 level. In people, that is a change from about 163 thousand to 1.8 million adults, partly because the population itself changed.
Women are more likely to live with obesity than men: 31.6% compared with 24.5%.
Among children and teenagers aged 5 to 19, 12.1% were living with obesity in 2024, compared with 1.8% in 1980 — around 406 thousand young people.
For context, 21.2% of adults had diabetes in 2022, 12.5% of adults did not get enough physical activity in 2022 and the food supply provided about 2,177 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 Papua New Guinea: men, women and the world
What this meansSince 1980, the share of men went from 9.3% to 24.5%, and women from 11.0% to 31.6%.
- Men
- Women
- World
Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Men | Women | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 9.3% | 11.0% | 5.4% |
| 1985 | 10.9% | 12.7% | 6.0% |
| 1990 | 12.7% | 14.7% | 6.7% |
| 1995 | 14.5% | 16.9% | 7.6% |
| 2000 | 16.3% | 19.2% | 8.7% |
| 2005 | 18.1% | 21.6% | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 19.8% | 23.9% | 11.5% |
| 2015 | 21.2% | 26.5% | 13.0% |
| 2020 | 22.9% | 29.3% | 14.6% |
| 2024 | 24.5% | 31.6% | 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 Papua New Guinea
What this meansSince 1980, the share of boys went from 1.8% to 14.4%, and girls from 1.7% to 9.6%.
- Boys
- Girls
BMI-for-age more than 2 standard deviations above the WHO growth reference median.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Papua New Guinea compared (2024)
What this meansHow Papua New Guinea’s adult obesity rate compares with its region, countries at a similar income level, and the world.
- Papua New Guinea28.0%
- World16.2%
- Lower-middle income countries12.0%
- Western Pacific (WHO region)9.7%
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Food supply: calories per person per day in Papua New Guinea
What this meansThe food available per person went from 2,110 calories a day in 2010 to 2,177 in 2023. This counts food available, not food actually eaten.
- Papua New Guinea
- World
Countries ranked nearby
- 71. Türkiye28.8%
- 72. Greenland28.1%
- 73. Guatemala28.0%
- 73. Papua New Guinea28.0%
- 75. Ireland27.9%
- 76. Azerbaijan27.6%
- 77. Greece27.4%
Last updated