Western Pacific · Country profile
Obesity in Tokelau
70.7% of adults live with obesity (2024). That ranks 5th highest of 199 countries.
70.7%
of adults live with obesity (2024)
Likely range 64.6%–76.4%
Source: WHO
1,000
adults with obesity (estimated number)
WHO rate × UN population
Source: WHO; UN WPP 2024
31.6%
of children & teens (5–19) live with obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
#5
highest adult obesity out of 199 countries
#1 = highest share
Source: WHO
The story of Tokelau in numbers
In 2024, about 70.7% of adults in Tokelau were living with obesity, according to World Health Organization estimates (the likely range is 64.6% to 76.4%). That is roughly 1,000 people aged 18 and over.
That is higher than the world average of 16.2%, and ranks 5th highest out of 199 countries. It is above the average for WHO’s Western Pacific region (9.7%).
Back in 1980, the figure was 45.1%. Since then it has gone up by 25.6 percentage points. In people, that is a change from about 0 to 1,000 adults, partly because the population itself changed.
Women are more likely to live with obesity than men: 74.3% compared with 66.7%.
Among children and teenagers aged 5 to 19, 31.6% were living with obesity in 2024, compared with 6.7% in 1980.
For context, 31.0% of adults had diabetes in 2022. These numbers don’t prove what causes obesity, but they help paint the picture.
How it changed
Adults with obesity in Tokelau: men, women and the world
What this meansSince 1980, the share of men went from 37.5% to 66.7%, and women from 50.3% to 74.3%.
- Men
- Women
- World
Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Men | Women | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 37.5% | 50.3% | 5.4% |
| 1985 | 43.1% | 54.2% | 6.0% |
| 1990 | 48.3% | 57.8% | 6.7% |
| 1995 | 52.2% | 61.0% | 7.6% |
| 2000 | 55.0% | 63.9% | 8.7% |
| 2005 | 57.6% | 66.3% | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 60.3% | 68.5% | 11.5% |
| 2015 | 62.7% | 70.8% | 13.0% |
| 2020 | 65.0% | 72.8% | 14.6% |
| 2024 | 66.7% | 74.3% | 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 Tokelau
What this meansSince 1980, the share of boys went from 7.0% to 36.5%, and girls from 6.3% to 26.2%.
- Boys
- Girls
BMI-for-age more than 2 standard deviations above the WHO growth reference median.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Tokelau compared (2024)
What this meansHow Tokelau’s adult obesity rate compares with its region, countries at a similar income level, and the world.
- Tokelau70.7%
- World16.2%
- Western Pacific (WHO region)9.7%
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Countries ranked nearby
- 2. Tonga73.8%
- 3. Cook Islands72.4%
- 4. Naoero71.4%
- 5. Tokelau70.7%
- 6. Niue66.9%
- 7. Tuvalu65.1%
- 8. Samoa64.3%
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