The most obese countries in the world· by adult obesity rate
By share of adults living with obesity, the country with the highest rate is American Samoa, at about 76.9% of adults with a body-mass index of 30 or more, followed by Tonga (74.0%) and Cook Islands (73.5%). The very top of the list is a Pacific story: small island states and territories, where roughly 10 of the ten highest rates sit. Across 200 countries and territories the world average is 25.4%. All figures are age-standardised prevalence for 2024.
Two honest caveats up front. These are modelled, age-standardised estimates from NCD-RisC, built from pooled measured studies, not a headcount of individuals. And BMI is a population measure: it works well across whole countries but is a blunt tool for any one person, so read this as a map of where obesity is common, not as a personal diagnosis. Obesity here means a BMI of 30 or more; the wider "overweight" line of 25 would put the numbers much higher.
Where obesity is most common
The deep color marks the countries and territories with the highest share of adults living with obesity. The very darkest sit in the Pacific; the United States and several Gulf and North African states follow. The map and the ranked list beside it move together. Switch between men and women with the toggle above.
Tap a country to read its figure.
Natural Earth 10m · Crimea shown as Ukraine · source: NCD-RisC / Nature, CC BY 4.0
Every country, ranked from the highest rate down
The complete table, highest obesity rate first. Click a column to sort. The first number is the combined adult rate; the men's and women's columns sit beside it, because the gap between the sexes is large and runs in different directions from country to country.
| # ▲ | Country | Adults | Men | Women | vs world |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  American Samoa | 76.9% | 71.6% | 82.2% | +51.5 |
| 2 |  Tonga | 74.0% | 65.2% | 82.8% | +48.6 |
| 3 |  Cook Islands | 73.5% | 71.8% | 75.2% | +48.1 |
| 4 |  Naoero | 73.0% | 72.7% | 73.2% | +47.6 |
| 5 |  Tokelau | 71.9% | 68.1% | 75.8% | +46.5 |
| 6 |  Niue | 68.0% | 64.4% | 71.5% | +42.6 |
| 7 |  Tuvalu | 66.4% | 58.8% | 74.0% | +41.0 |
| 8 |  Samoa | 65.8% | 53.4% | 78.1% | +40.4 |
| 9 |  French Polynesia | 50.2% | 48.5% | 51.9% | +24.8 |
| 10 |  Micronesia | 49.7% | 40.7% | 58.7% | +24.3 |
| 11 |  Bahamas | 48.8% | 39.9% | 57.8% | +23.4 |
| 12 |  St. Kitts and Nevis | 47.4% | 38.1% | 56.6% | +22.0 |
| 13 |  Kiribati | 46.5% | 38.3% | 54.7% | +21.1 |
| 14 |  Qatar | 45.5% | 39.3% | 51.7% | +20.1 |
| 15 |  Egypt | 45.4% | 31.8% | 59.0% | +20.0 |
What "most obese" really measures here
This ranking uses the age-standardised prevalence of obesity: the share of adults in a country whose body-mass index is 30 or more, adjusted so that countries with older or younger populations can be compared fairly. The figures come from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, which pools thousands of measured studies (real height and weight, not self-reported) and fills the gaps with a statistical model. So each number is a careful estimate of how common obesity is across a whole population, not a tally counted person by person.
Read the top of the list carefully. The highest rates on Earth are not in the largest or richest countries but in small Pacific island states and territories: American Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands and their neighbours. Researchers tie this to a nutrition transition — traditional diets giving way to a heavy reliance on imported, energy-dense processed food, alongside genetic and social factors. Among large economies, the United States ranks 22, near 41.7% of adults. The world average across 200 countries is about 25.4%.
Two limits are worth keeping in mind. BMI is a screening measure for populations, not a verdict on any individual: it can misread very muscular people and does not read the same way across every ethnic group, so nobody should diagnose themselves from a national rate. And "obesity" here is the BMI-30 line specifically; the broader "overweight" line of BMI 25 is a different, much larger group. This page ranks the BMI-30 rate, dated and sourced, and nothing more.
Five numbers worth remembering
The same dataset, squeezed into the facts people actually retell.
Where does a country stand?
A rate lands harder when it belongs to a place you know.
Frequently asked questions
What country is the most obese in the world?
By age-standardised adult obesity rate, American Samoa has the highest in the world, at about 76.9% of adults with a body-mass index of 30 or more in 2024, according to NCD-RisC. Tonga (74.0%) and Cook Islands (73.5%) come next. The top of the ranking is made up almost entirely of small Pacific island states and territories, not large countries.
Is the United States the most obese country?
No. The United States has a high obesity rate — about 41.7% of adults, which ranks it 22 of 200 — but it is well below the Pacific island states and territories at the top. It is, however, the most obese among the world's large economies. Its men and women are close: about 40.3% of men and 43.1% of women.
Why do Pacific island countries have the highest obesity rates?
Researchers point to a nutrition transition: traditional diets built on fish, root vegetables and local produce have been displaced by imported, energy-dense processed foods, often on small islands with limited farmland. Genetic and social factors play a part too. The result is that American Samoa, Tonga and their neighbours post the highest rates on Earth, above 73.5% of adults, far higher than any large country.
How is obesity measured, and is BMI reliable?
Obesity here means a body-mass index of 30 or more, from measured height and weight. BMI is a solid tool for comparing whole populations, which is what this ranking does. It is much weaker for individuals: it can misread very muscular people and does not read the same across every ethnic group, so a national rate should never be used for self-diagnosis. The figures are age-standardised estimates from NCD-RisC for 2024, covering adults 18 and over.
What is the difference between obesity and being overweight?
They are two different lines on the same scale. "Overweight" is a BMI of 25 or more; "obesity" is a BMI of 30 or more. This page ranks obesity, the BMI-30 line, so the numbers are lower than an overweight ranking would show — the overweight share of most countries is far larger. The world's average adult obesity rate is about 25.4%; the overweight share would be well over half in many places.
Which country has the lowest obesity rate?
Among the 200 countries and territories with data, Vietnam has the lowest age-standardised adult obesity rate, near 2.4%, for 2024. Several countries in South and East Asia and parts of Sub-Saharan Africa sit near the bottom of the list, well under the world average of about 25.4%.
Sources & further reading
Every figure here is built on one open dataset: the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration's adult obesity prevalence (BMI ≥ 30), released under CC BY 4.0.
- NCD-RisC — adiposity data downloads (obesity, BMI ≥ 30)primary dataset
- NCD-RisC — worldwide trends in obesity (Nature, 2026)peer-reviewed paper
- Our World in Data — obesitysecondary reading
- NCD-RisC — publications and methodologymethodology