Europe · Country profile
Obesity in Slovenia
19.8% of adults live with obesity (2024). That ranks 123rd highest of 199 countries.
19.8%
of adults live with obesity (2024)
Likely range 17.5%–22.1%
Source: WHO
398 thousand
adults with obesity (estimated number)
WHO rate × UN population
Source: WHO; UN WPP 2024
10.7%
of children & teens (5–19) live with obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
#123
highest adult obesity out of 199 countries
#1 = highest share
Source: WHO
The story of Slovenia in numbers
In 2024, about 19.8% of adults in Slovenia were living with obesity — about 1 in 5 adults, according to World Health Organization estimates (the likely range is 17.5% to 22.1%). That is roughly 398 thousand people aged 18 and over.
That is higher than the world average of 16.2%, and ranks 123rd 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 9.6%. Since then it has gone up by 10.2 percentage points — about 2.1 times the 1980 level. In people, that is a change from about 136 thousand to 398 thousand adults, partly because the population itself changed.
Men are more likely to live with obesity than women: 25.8% compared with 13.3%.
Among children and teenagers aged 5 to 19, 10.7% were living with obesity in 2024, compared with 2.2% in 1980 — around 35 thousand young people.
For context, 10.8% of adults had diabetes in 2022, 19.0% of adults did not get enough physical activity in 2022 and the food supply provided about 3,200 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 Slovenia: men, women and the world
What this meansSince 1980, the share of men went from 8.1% to 25.8%, and women from 10.5% to 13.3%.
- Men
- Women
- World
Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Men | Women | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 8.1% | 10.5% | 5.4% |
| 1985 | 9.6% | 11.1% | 6.0% |
| 1990 | 11.0% | 11.8% | 6.7% |
| 1995 | 12.6% | 12.6% | 7.6% |
| 2000 | 14.7% | 13.3% | 8.7% |
| 2005 | 16.6% | 13.6% | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 18.0% | 13.8% | 11.5% |
| 2015 | 19.6% | 13.7% | 13.0% |
| 2020 | 22.4% | 13.4% | 14.6% |
| 2024 | 25.8% | 13.3% | 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 Slovenia
What this meansSince 1980, the share of boys went from 2.4% to 12.8%, and girls from 2.0% to 8.4%.
- Boys
- Girls
BMI-for-age more than 2 standard deviations above the WHO growth reference median.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Slovenia compared (2024)
What this meansHow Slovenia’s adult obesity rate compares with its region, countries at a similar income level, and the world.
- High income countries24.7%
- Europe (WHO region)20.9%
- Slovenia19.8%
- World16.2%
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Food supply: calories per person per day in Slovenia
What this meansThe food available per person went from 2,600 calories a day in 1992 to 3,200 in 2023. This counts food available, not food actually eaten.
- Slovenia
- World
Countries ranked nearby
- 120. Estonia20.3%
- 122. Norway20.2%
- 123. Botswana19.8%
- 123. Slovenia19.8%
- 125. Equatorial Guinea19.2%
- 126. Luxembourg19.0%
- 127. Namibia18.3%
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