Ireland's prevalence of overweight (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) was 11.2% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 0.6 percentage points from 10.6% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 11.2% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 11.1% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 10.6% | 2014 |
| Highest | 11.2% | 2021 |
| Lowest | 7.9% | 2000 |
| Average since 2015 | 11.04% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 7.9% | 2000 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Ireland's prevalence of overweight (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) did not change 0 percentage points on 2023 (from 11.2% to 11.2%).
Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.07 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.2 percentage points in 2002. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.06 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 88% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Ireland had the 23rd highest value of the 163 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 11.2% | 2024 |
| World | 5.48% | 2024 |
| Europe & Central Asia | 7.53% | 2024 |
| High income | 8.41% | 2024 |
Closest to Ireland in the 2024 ranking
- Botswana — 21st of 163: 11.5%
- Canada — 22nd of 163: 11.4%
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — 23rd of 163: 11.2%
- Morocco — 25th of 163: 11.2%
- China — 26th of 163: 11.1%
- Syrian Arab Republic — 27th of 163: 11%
What this measures
Prevalence of overweight children is the percentage of children under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations above the median for the international reference population of the corresponding age as established by the WHO's 2006 Child Growth Standards.
Limitations: Survey estimates come with levels of uncertainty due to both sampling error and non-sampling error (e.g., measurement technical error, recording error etc.,). The JME global estimates for overweight take into account estimates of sampling error around survey estimates. While non-sampling error cannot be accounted for or reviewed in full, when available, a data quality review of weight, height and age measurements from household surveys supports compilation of a time series that is comparable across countries and over time.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 25 values
| Year | Prevalence of overweight (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 11.2 |
| 2023 | 11.2 |
| 2022 | 11.2 |
| 2021 | 11.2 |
| 2020 | 11.1 |
| 2019 | 11.1 |
| 2018 | 11 |
| 2017 | 10.9 |
| 2016 | 10.8 |
| 2015 | 10.7 |
| 2014 |
Prevalence of overweight (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) in nearby economies
- Albania — 16.7% (2024)
- Armenia — 12.9% (2024)
- Azerbaijan — 4.2% (2024)
- Belarus — 3.4% (2024)
- Belgium — 4.9% (2024)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina — 13% (2024)
- Bulgaria — 5.5% (2024)
- Czechia — 6.6% (2024)
- Estonia
More health data for Ireland
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 5.15% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 5.54% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 484,610 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 17.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 507,837 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 18.71% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 992,447 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 18.1% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 5.88% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Ireland's prevalence of overweight (modeled estimate, % of children under 5)?
- 11.2% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2000?
- It is up 3.3 percentage points from 7.9% in 2000. The highest value was 11.2% in 2021 and the lowest 7.9% in 2000.
- How does Ireland rank?
- 23rd highest of 163 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in prevalence of overweight (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) unusual for Ireland?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.STA.OWGH.ME.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), uri: https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/joint-child-malnutrition-estimates-unicef-who-wb; World Health Organization (WHO), uri: https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/joint-child-malnutrition-estimates-unice… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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