Lao PDR: Prevalence of overweight, female (modeled estimate, % of children under 5)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Lao PDR's prevalence of overweight, female (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) rose 0.1 percentage points on 2023 (from 3.3% to 3.4%).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.06 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.2 percentage points in 2021. 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 0.12 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 99% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 3.7% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.16%, against 0.27% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2024, Lao PDR had the 127th 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.

Closest to Lao PDR in the 2024 ranking

• Singapore — 125th of 163: 3.5%
• Suriname — 126th of 163: 3.5%
• India — 127th of 163: 3.4%
• Côte d'Ivoire — 129th of 163: 3.3%
• Guinea-Bissau — 130th of 163: 3.3%
• Togo — 131st of 163: 3.3%

What this measures

Prevalence of overweight, female, is the percentage of girls 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

Prevalence of overweight, female (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) in nearby economies

• Australia — 25% (2024)
• Brunei Darussalam — 8.8% (2024)
• Cambodia — 5.3% (2024)
• China — 10.4% (2024)
• Fiji — 6.8% (2024)
• Indonesia — 2.4% (2024)
• Japan — 1.8% (2024)
• Kiribati — 2% (2024)
• Korea, Dem. People's Rep.

More health data for Lao PDR

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 9.83% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 10.18% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 1.15 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 29.38% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 1.2 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 30.29% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 2.35 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 29.84% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 9.97% (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Lao PDR's prevalence of overweight, female (modeled estimate, % of children under 5)?

3.4% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.STA.OWGH.ME.FE.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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