Western Pacific · Country profile
Obesity in Palau
40.5% of adults live with obesity (2024). That ranks 20th highest of 199 countries.
40.5%
of adults live with obesity (2024)
Likely range 37.0%–43.9%
Source: WHO
6,000
adults with obesity (estimated number)
WHO rate × UN population
Source: WHO; UN WPP 2024
28.6%
of children & teens (5–19) live with obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
#20
highest adult obesity out of 199 countries
#1 = highest share
Source: WHO
The story of Palau in numbers
In 2024, about 40.5% of adults in Palau were living with obesity — about 1 in 2 adults, according to World Health Organization estimates (the likely range is 37.0% to 43.9%). That is roughly 6,000 people aged 18 and over.
That is higher than the world average of 16.2%, and ranks 20th highest out of 199 countries. It is above the average for WHO’s Western Pacific region (9.7%).
Back in 1980, the figure was 26.7%. Since then it has gone up by 13.8 percentage points. In people, that is a change from about 2,000 to 6,000 adults, partly because the population itself changed.
Women are more likely to live with obesity than men: 45.9% compared with 36.0%.
Among children and teenagers aged 5 to 19, 28.6% were living with obesity in 2024, compared with 5.1% in 1980 — around 1,000 young people.
For context, 15.9% of adults had diabetes in 2022 and 26.0% of adults did not get enough physical activity in 2022. These numbers don’t prove what causes obesity, but they help paint the picture.
How it changed
Adults with obesity in Palau: men, women and the world
What this meansSince 1980, the share of men went from 22.5% to 36.0%, and women from 30.9% to 45.9%.
- Men
- Women
- World
Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Men | Women | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 22.5% | 30.9% | 5.4% |
| 1985 | 26.2% | 33.1% | 6.0% |
| 1990 | 29.8% | 35.3% | 6.7% |
| 1995 | 32.4% | 37.2% | 7.6% |
| 2000 | 34.1% | 38.9% | 8.7% |
| 2005 | 35.2% | 40.3% | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 36.1% | 41.5% | 11.5% |
| 2015 | 36.2% | 42.9% | 13.0% |
| 2020 | 36.0% | 44.5% | 14.6% |
| 2024 | 36.0% | 45.9% | 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 Palau
What this meansSince 1980, the share of boys went from 4.6% to 32.3%, and girls from 5.5% to 24.7%.
- Boys
- Girls
BMI-for-age more than 2 standard deviations above the WHO growth reference median.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Palau compared (2024)
What this meansHow Palau’s adult obesity rate compares with its region, countries at a similar income level, and the world.
- Palau40.5%
- High income countries24.7%
- World16.2%
- Western Pacific (WHO region)9.7%
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Countries ranked nearby
- 17. Qatar42.0%
- 19. United States41.0%
- 20. Chile40.5%
- 20. Palau40.5%
- 22. Kuwait40.4%
- 23. Saudi Arabia40.1%
- 24. Iraq39.7%
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