World’s Most Obese Countries – Ranked 2026

A global ranking of the world’s most obese countries, based on the latest international data on adult obesity rates.

Obesity has been described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a “global ticking time-bomb with huge potential negative economic and health impacts, especially for the poor.”

In 2026, The Global Obesity Observatory updated its global obesity dataset using data compiled by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC).

The key findings and insights from this updated dataset can be found below.

The global rise of obesity

Obesity has become one of the world’s most significant public health challenges. An estimated 16% of adults worldwide are obese, although the prevalence among US adults is significantly higher at around 40.3%.

Since 1975, global obesity rates have more than tripled among adults and increased fivefold among children and adolescents.

Obesity and overweight-related conditions contribute to at least 3.7 million deaths annually, including from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and certain cancers.

In the United States alone, the estimated annual medical cost of obesity is between $147 billion and $210 billion, contributing to the country’s exceptionally high healthcare spending.

10 most obese countries in the world

Based on findings from the Global Obesity Observatory and the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, these countries have the highest recorded rates of adult obesity worldwide.

The rankings below show the 10 most obese countries in the world for males and females.

Key findings

• Tonga has the world’s most obese female population, with 82.8% of its adult female population classified as obese.
• American Samoa, a US territory, has the world’s most obese male population, with 77.1% of its adult male population classified as obese.
• Timor-Leste (East Timor) records the world’s least obese female population, with 0.7% of its adult female population classified as obese.
• Eritrea has the world’s least obese male population, with 0.4% of its adult male population classified as obese.

World’s most obese countries – complete ranking

The table ranks the world’s countries by the prevalence (%) of obesity among adults and older adolescents. The rankings are based on obesity rate data as displayed by the Global Obesity Observatory.

Some countries may have been omitted due to insufficient data.

Child obesity statistics

Childhood obesity has become one of the most urgent public health concerns of the 21st century. According to UNICEF, around 30 million children under the age of five were living with overweight or obesity in 2000 — a number that rose to 37 million by 2022.

Data from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) show a similar global trend among older children and adolescents aged 5–19 years, where obesity rates have increased tenfold since 1975. In 1975, only 0.7% of girls and 0.9% of boys were living with obesity; by 2022, these figures had jumped to 6.9% and 9.3%, respectively.

In total, this represents an estimated 159 million school-age children and adolescents living with obesity in 2022, compared with just 11 million in 1975. Childhood obesity is associated with a higher risk of chronic diseases, mental health challenges, and social stigma, making it one of the most serious global health challenges today.

Country	%
Afghanistan	8.4
Albania	7.69
Algeria	15.09
American Samoa	29.08
Andorra	11.32
Angola	4.29
Antigua and Barbuda	24.67
Argentina	20.19
Armenia	8.95
Australia	15.7
Austria	10.5
Azerbaijan	8.51
Bahamas	27.31
Bahrain	20.51
Bangladesh	1.92
Barbados	23.15
Belarus	7.55
Belgium	6.46
Belize	21.85
Benin	5.25
Bermuda	19.08
Bhutan	5.97
Bolivia	16.21
Bosnia and Herzegovina	12.07
Botswana	6.05
Brazil	15.65
Brunei Darussalam	22.11
Bulgaria	11.97
Burkina Faso	1.06
Burundi	2.27
Cabo Verde	4.24
Cambodia	5.81
Cameroon	4.16
Canada	10.89
Central African Republic	4.95
Chad	3.29
Chile	27.38
China	11.54
Colombia	10.69
Comoros	4.32
Congo	2.75
Cook Islands	37.46
Costa Rica	13.79
Cote d'Ivoire	5.28
Croatia	9.22
Cuba	17.16
Cyprus	13.94
Czechia	5.87
Democratic Republic of Congo	4.38
Denmark	5.54
Djibouti	3.46
Dominica	18.73
Dominican Republic	15.44
Ecuador	12.62
Egypt	19.97
El Salvador	11.73
Equatorial Guinea	4.96
Eritrea	3.35
Estonia	10.45
Eswatini	6.79
Ethiopia	1.66
Federated States of Micronesia	20.4
Fiji	12.26
Finland	12.53
France	4.14
French Polynesia	26.46
Gabon	5.31
Gambia	4.25
Georgia	10.12
Germany	8.43
Ghana	6.69
Greece	11.65
Greenland	4.72
Grenada	18.99
Guatemala	7.71
Guinea	3.47
Guinea-Bissau	4.03
Guyana	13.71
Haiti	11.2
Honduras	12.6
Hungary	14.79
Iceland	8.66
India	3.48
Indonesia	10.78
Iran	12.39
Iraq	18.67
Ireland	8.27
Israel	9.22
Italy	9.82
Jamaica	15.59
Japan	4.32
Jordan	17.78
Kazakhstan	5.32
Kenya	2.45
Kiribati	18.75
Kuwait	21.05
Kyrgyzstan	2.17
Laos	6.69
Latvia	6.59
Lebanon	18.15
Lesotho	4.61
Liberia	8.91
Libya	15.39
Lithuania	6.93
Luxembourg	7.32
Madagascar	2.11
Malawi	1.96
Malaysia	16.51
Maldives	13.09
Mali	5.28
Malta	11.98
Marshall Islands	18.91
Mauritania	8.03
Mauritius	12.54
Mexico	17.57
Moldova	4.53
Mongolia	5.97
Montenegro	8.53
Morocco	5.7
Mozambique	1.61
Myanmar	7.35
Namibia	4.51
Nauru	33.36
Nepal	1.98
Netherlands	4.77
New Zealand	17.75
Nicaragua	12.66
Niger	3.52
Nigeria	3.65
Niue	38.62
North Korea	9.14
North Macedonia	11.33
Norway	6.15
Oman	19.47
Pakistan	8.39
Palau	27.94
Palestine	13.48
Panama	14.24
Papua New Guinea	15.36
Paraguay	14.3
Peru	16.95
Philippines	5.88
Poland	7.09
Portugal	7.74
Puerto Rico	21.77
Qatar	26.3
Romania	8.82
Russian Federation	5.79
Rwanda	1.58
Saint Kitts and Nevis	23.01
Saint Lucia	19.51
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	18.53
Samoa	23.79
Sao Tome and Principe	3.95
Saudi Arabia	18.68
Senegal	2.44
Serbia	10.74
Seychelles	17.99
Sierra Leone	2.48
Singapore	16.22
Slovakia	9.64
Slovenia	10.64
Solomon Islands	8.92
Somalia	3.45
South Africa	7.16
South Korea	13.89
South Sudan	5.38
Spain	10.63
Sri Lanka	7.71
Sudan	6.25
Suriname	18.16
Sweden	10.05
Switzerland	6.95
Syrian Arab Republic	15.99
Taiwan	10.79
Tajikistan	1.54
Tanzania	1.72
Thailand	12.18
Timor-Leste	0.88
Togo	2.89
Tokelau	32.31
Tonga	32.58
Trinidad and Tobago	19.56
Tunisia	10.67
Turkey	11.71
Turkmenistan	3.22
Tuvalu	29.87
Uganda	4.42
Ukraine	4.17
United Arab Emirates	22.36
United Kingdom	11.25
United States	20.54
Uruguay	17.76
Uzbekistan	6.19
Vanuatu	12.36
Venezuela	14.87
Vietnam	6.1
Yemen	10.43
Zambia	5.06
Zimbabwe	2.41