New Zealand vs South Africa: Body weight — Share of population who are obese
Body weight — Share of population who are obese over time
- New Zealand
- South Africa
How they compare
New Zealand currently reports 34.2 Percentage of population against 30 Percentage of population in South Africa, a difference of 4.2 Percentage of population.
That makes New Zealand's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 14 shared years of data; in 1997 it was South Africa ahead.
New Zealand ranks 4th and South Africa ranks 7th of 18 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, New Zealand averaged higher in 3 and South Africa in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | New Zealand | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 18.8 Percentage of population | 18.9 Percentage of population | 0.1 Percentage of population | South Africa |
| 2000s | 26.43 Percentage of population | 24.1 Percentage of population | 2.33 Percentage of population | New Zealand |
| 2010s | 31 Percentage of population | 27.46 Percentage of population | 3.54 Percentage of population | New Zealand |
| 2020s | 32.85 Percentage of population | 29.5 Percentage of population | 3.35 Percentage of population | New Zealand |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher body weight — share of population who are obese, New Zealand or South Africa?
- New Zealand, at 34.2 Percentage of population against 30 Percentage of population in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in body weight — share of population who are obese between New Zealand and South Africa?
- 4.2 Percentage of population, with New Zealand ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and South Africa?
- 14 years are reported by both, from 1997 to 2021.
- How do New Zealand and South Africa rank globally for body weight — share of population who are obese?
- New Zealand ranks 4th and South Africa ranks 7th of 18 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Body weight — Share of population who are obese. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Unhealthy lifestyles and poor environments cause millions of people to die prematurely. Smoking, harmful alcohol use, physical inactivity and obesity are the root cause of many chronic conditions. This dataset presents the latest data for overweight and obesity (measured and self-reported data). Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed country-specific information.