Western Pacific · Country profile
Obesity in Solomon Islands
21.8% of adults live with obesity (2024). That ranks 107th highest of 199 countries.
21.8%
of adults live with obesity (2024)
Likely range 18.0%–25.9%
Source: WHO
97 thousand
adults with obesity (estimated number)
WHO rate × UN population
Source: WHO; UN WPP 2024
6.3%
of children & teens (5–19) live with obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
#107
highest adult obesity out of 199 countries
#1 = highest share
Source: WHO
The story of Solomon Islands in numbers
In 2024, about 21.8% of adults in Solomon Islands were living with obesity — about 1 in 5 adults, according to World Health Organization estimates (the likely range is 18.0% to 25.9%). That is roughly 97 thousand people aged 18 and over.
That is higher than the world average of 16.2%, and ranks 107th highest out of 199 countries. It is above the average for WHO’s Western Pacific region (9.7%).
Back in 1980, the figure was 10.5%. Since then it has gone up by 11.3 percentage points — about 2.1 times the 1980 level. In people, that is a change from about 11 thousand to 97 thousand adults, partly because the population itself changed.
Women are more likely to live with obesity than men: 27.6% compared with 16.2%.
Among children and teenagers aged 5 to 19, 6.3% were living with obesity in 2024, compared with 1.0% in 1980 — around 18 thousand young people.
For context, 6.5% of adults had diabetes in 2022, 17.5% of adults did not get enough physical activity in 2022 and the food supply provided about 2,166 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 Solomon Islands: men, women and the world
What this meansSince 1980, the share of men went from 7.7% to 16.2%, and women from 13.7% to 27.6%.
- Men
- Women
- World
Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Men | Women | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 7.7% | 13.7% | 5.4% |
| 1985 | 8.6% | 14.8% | 6.0% |
| 1990 | 9.6% | 16.1% | 6.7% |
| 1995 | 10.7% | 17.4% | 7.6% |
| 2000 | 11.7% | 19.0% | 8.7% |
| 2005 | 12.8% | 20.6% | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 13.7% | 22.1% | 11.5% |
| 2015 | 14.4% | 23.9% | 13.0% |
| 2020 | 15.3% | 25.9% | 14.6% |
| 2024 | 16.2% | 27.6% | 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 Solomon Islands
What this meansSince 1980, the share of boys went from 1.0% to 7.6%, and girls from 1.1% to 4.9%.
- Boys
- Girls
BMI-for-age more than 2 standard deviations above the WHO growth reference median.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Solomon Islands compared (2024)
What this meansHow Solomon Islands’s adult obesity rate compares with its region, countries at a similar income level, and the world.
- Solomon Islands21.8%
- 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 Solomon Islands
What this meansThe food available per person went from 1,865 calories a day in 1961 to 2,166 in 2023. This counts food available, not food actually eaten.
- Solomon Islands
- World
Countries ranked nearby
- 106. Kyrgyzstan22.0%
- 107. Poland21.8%
- 107. Serbia21.8%
- 107. Solomon Islands21.8%
- 110. Cyprus21.6%
- 110. Morocco21.6%
- 112. Lithuania21.3%
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