Europe · Country profile
Obesity in Luxembourg
19.0% of adults live with obesity (2024). That ranks 126th highest of 199 countries.
19.0%
of adults live with obesity (2024)
Likely range 15.2%–23.3%
Source: WHO
114 thousand
adults with obesity (estimated number)
WHO rate × UN population
Source: WHO; UN WPP 2024
9.1%
of children & teens (5–19) live with obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
#126
highest adult obesity out of 199 countries
#1 = highest share
Source: WHO
The story of Luxembourg in numbers
In 2024, about 19.0% of adults in Luxembourg were living with obesity — about 1 in 5 adults, according to World Health Organization estimates (the likely range is 15.2% to 23.3%). That is roughly 114 thousand people aged 18 and over.
That is higher than the world average of 16.2%, and ranks 126th 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 10.3%. Since then it has gone up by 8.7 percentage points. In people, that is a change from about 31 thousand to 114 thousand adults, partly because the population itself changed.
Men are more likely to live with obesity than women: 20.5% compared with 17.5%.
Among children and teenagers aged 5 to 19, 9.1% were living with obesity in 2024, compared with 1.8% in 1980 — around 10 thousand young people.
For context, 5.9% of adults had diabetes in 2022, 13.9% of adults did not get enough physical activity in 2022 and the food supply provided about 3,522 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 Luxembourg: men, women and the world
What this meansSince 1980, the share of men went from 8.9% to 20.5%, and women from 11.3% to 17.5%.
- Men
- Women
- World
Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Men | Women | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 8.9% | 11.3% | 5.4% |
| 1985 | 10.3% | 12.0% | 6.0% |
| 1990 | 12.0% | 12.7% | 6.7% |
| 1995 | 14.1% | 13.7% | 7.6% |
| 2000 | 16.5% | 14.9% | 8.7% |
| 2005 | 18.7% | 15.9% | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 19.8% | 16.5% | 11.5% |
| 2015 | 19.8% | 16.8% | 13.0% |
| 2020 | 20.1% | 17.1% | 14.6% |
| 2024 | 20.5% | 17.5% | 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 Luxembourg
What this meansSince 1980, the share of boys went from 1.8% to 10.4%, and girls from 1.7% to 7.8%.
- Boys
- Girls
BMI-for-age more than 2 standard deviations above the WHO growth reference median.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Luxembourg compared (2024)
What this meansHow Luxembourg’s adult obesity rate compares with its region, countries at a similar income level, and the world.
- High income countries24.7%
- Europe (WHO region)20.9%
- Luxembourg19.0%
- World16.2%
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Food supply: calories per person per day in Luxembourg
What this meansThe food available per person went from 3,478 calories a day in 2000 to 3,522 in 2023. This counts food available, not food actually eaten.
- Luxembourg
- World
Countries ranked nearby
- 123. Botswana19.8%
- 123. Slovenia19.8%
- 125. Equatorial Guinea19.2%
- 126. Luxembourg19.0%
- 127. Namibia18.3%
- 128. Portugal18.1%
- 129. Maldives17.9%
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