Serbia: Prevalence of overweight (modeled estimate, % of children under 5)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Serbia's prevalence of overweight (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) rose 0.7 percentage points on 2023 (from 11.5% to 12.2%).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was −0.21 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.51 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.8 standard deviations above 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 0.7 percentage points in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.8 percentage points in 2013. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 4% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Serbia had the 20th 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 Serbia in the 2024 ranking

• South Africa — 17th of 163: 12.8%
• Mongolia — 18th of 163: 12.3%
• North Macedonia — 19th of 163: 12.3%
• Botswana — 21st of 163: 11.5%
• Canada — 22nd of 163: 11.4%
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 23rd of 163: 11.2%

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

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 Serbia

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 4.18% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 4.87% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 461,316 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 13.39% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 472,454 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 15.22% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 933,770 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 14.26% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 4.58% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

12.2% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 4.2 percentage points from 16.4% in 2000. The highest value was 18.7% in 2005 and the lowest 10.6% in 2020.

How does Serbia rank?

20th highest of 163 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in prevalence of overweight (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) unusual for Serbia?

In 2024, Serbia's prevalence of overweight (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) rose 0.7 percentage points on 2023 (from 11.5% to 12.2%). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was −0.21 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.51 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

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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