Europe · Country profile
Obesity in Bosnia and Herzegovina
21.0% of adults live with obesity (2024). That ranks 115th highest of 199 countries.
21.0%
of adults live with obesity (2024)
Likely range 15.9%–26.5%
Source: WHO
693 thousand
adults with obesity (estimated number)
WHO rate × UN population
Source: WHO; UN WPP 2024
11.8%
of children & teens (5–19) live with obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
#115
highest adult obesity out of 199 countries
#1 = highest share
Source: WHO
The story of Bosnia and Herzegovina in numbers
In 2024, about 21.0% of adults in Bosnia and Herzegovina were living with obesity — about 1 in 5 adults, according to World Health Organization estimates (the likely range is 15.9% to 26.5%). That is roughly 693 thousand people aged 18 and over.
That is higher than the world average of 16.2%, and ranks 115th highest out of 199 countries. It is about level with the average for WHO’s Europe region (20.9%).
Back in 1980, the figure was 11.5%. Since then it has gone up by 9.5 percentage points. In people, that is a change from about 286 thousand to 693 thousand adults, partly because the population itself changed.
Men are more likely to live with obesity than women: 21.7% compared with 19.9%.
Among children and teenagers aged 5 to 19, 11.8% were living with obesity in 2024, compared with 2.3% in 1980 — around 53 thousand young people.
For context, 13.2% of adults had diabetes in 2022, 21.1% of adults did not get enough physical activity in 2022 and the food supply provided about 3,458 calories per person per day in 2023. These numbers don’t prove what causes obesity, but they help paint the picture.
How it changed
Adults with obesity in Bosnia and Herzegovina: men, women and the world
What this meansSince 1980, the share of men went from 6.6% to 21.7%, and women from 15.2% to 19.9%.
- Men
- Women
- World
Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Men | Women | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 6.6% | 15.2% | 5.4% |
| 1985 | 7.5% | 15.2% | 6.0% |
| 1990 | 8.4% | 15.4% | 6.7% |
| 1995 | 9.5% | 15.7% | 7.6% |
| 2000 | 11.1% | 16.4% | 8.7% |
| 2005 | 13.1% | 17.3% | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 15.2% | 18.3% | 11.5% |
| 2015 | 17.3% | 19.1% | 13.0% |
| 2020 | 19.6% | 19.6% | 14.6% |
| 2024 | 21.7% | 19.9% | 16.2% |
Age-standardized WHO estimates. Shaded bands show the 95% uncertainty range.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Children & teens (5–19) with obesity in Bosnia and Herzegovina
What this meansSince 1980, the share of boys went from 2.6% to 14.8%, and girls from 2.1% to 8.6%.
- Boys
- Girls
BMI-for-age more than 2 standard deviations above the WHO growth reference median.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Bosnia and Herzegovina compared (2024)
What this meansHow Bosnia and Herzegovina’s adult obesity rate compares with its region, countries at a similar income level, and the world.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina21.0%
- Europe (WHO region)20.9%
- Upper-middle income countries16.7%
- World16.2%
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Food supply: calories per person per day in Bosnia and Herzegovina
What this meansThe food available per person went from 2,298 calories a day in 1992 to 3,458 in 2023. This counts food available, not food actually eaten.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- World
Countries ranked nearby
- 112. Lithuania21.3%
- 113. Kazakhstan21.1%
- 113. Mauritius21.1%
- 115. Bosnia and Herzegovina21.0%
- 116. Belgium20.8%
- 117. Afghanistan20.6%
- 117. Belarus20.6%
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