What is the average BMI in Australia?

27.7 for men and 26.9 for women, with standard deviations of 5.3 and 6.0. Averaged across the sexes that is 27.3, against a global figure of 24.6.

What share of adults in Australia are overweight or obese?

Our estimate from the mean and SD: 69% of men have a BMI of 25 or more, and 33% are at 30 or more. For women it is 62% and 30%. These assume a normal curve, so the true obesity shares are likely a few points higher.

Is a BMI of 25 high in Australia?

A BMI of 25 is the WHO line between healthy weight and overweight. In Australia it is higher than about 31% of men and 38% of women. So for men here it is below the middle of the pack.

How does Australia compare with Malta?

Men in Malta average 28.0 against 27.7 in Australia; women 26.6 against 26.9. Malta ranks 45th, Australia 46th.

Average BMI in Australia

Men in Australia have an average BMI of 27.7, women 26.9. Both means fall in the WHO overweight band for men and overweight for women. That puts Australia 46th of 186 countries in our data, ranked from highest BMI to lowest.

Key numbers

Men

27.7

Overweight

Women

26.9

Overweight

SD, men / women

5.3 / 6.0

vs global mean

+3.2

women +2.1

Rank

46 of 186

1 = highest BMI

Est. obese

33% / 30%

men / women, BMI 30+

Estimated share in each WHO category

Estimated from mean and SD with a normal curve, not surveyed shares
Category	BMI	Men	Women
Underweight	under 18.5	4%	8%
Healthy weight	18.5 to 25	26%	29%
Overweight	25 to 30	36%	32%
Obese	30 and over	33%	30%

Columns may not sum to 100 because of rounding. Real BMI distributions have a longer right tail than a normal curve, so the obese share here is probably a few points low.

Australia among its neighbours

Ranking neighbours (three above and below) plus every Oceania country in our data
#	Country	Men	Women	Both	Region
1	Samoa	30.6	34.3	32.5	Oceania
2	Tonga	30.7	34.0	32.4	Oceania
3	Kiribati	29.2	31.3	30.3	Oceania
6	Micronesia	28.3	31.5	29.9	Oceania
8	French Polynesia	29.7	29.6	29.6	Oceania
21	New Zealand	28.3	28.1	28.2	Oceania
28	Fiji	26.8	29.0	27.9	Oceania
43	South Africa	25.1	29.6	27.4	Africa
44	Brunei	27.3	27.3	27.3	Asia
45	Malta	28.0	26.6	27.3	Europe
46	Australia	27.7	26.9	27.3	Oceania
47	Czechia	28.2	26.4	27.3	Europe
48	Greece	27.7	26.9	27.3	Europe
49	Moldova	26.8	27.6	27.2	Europe
90	Solomon Islands	25.8	27.1	26.5	Oceania
96	Vanuatu	25.7	27.0	26.4	Oceania
113	Papua New Guinea	25.4	26.0	25.7	Oceania

What a given BMI means in Australia

Share of adults with a lower BMI than each value, estimated from mean and SD
BMI	WHO band	Lower, men	Lower, women
20.0	Healthy weight	7%	13%
22.5	Healthy weight	16%	23%
25.0	Overweight	31%	38%
27.5	Overweight	48%	54%
30.0	Obese	67%	70%
32.5	Obese	82%	82%
35.0	Obese	92%	91%

Read it as: a man with BMI 30 in Australia has a higher BMI than 67% of men. Values under 1% or over 99% are shown as <1 and >99.

In plain language

The standard deviation for men in Australia is 5.3. About two thirds of men have a BMI between 22.4 and 33.0; for women the middle two thirds run from 20.9 to 32.9. Compared with the global mean, men here are 3.2 points higher and women 2.1 points higher.

BMI does not distinguish muscle from fat, and the WHO bands were set on European populations. For South and East Asian populations the same BMI carries more health risk, which is why several countries there use 23 and 27.5 as their own cut-offs.

Questions

What is the average BMI in Australia?: 27.7 for men and 26.9 for women, with standard deviations of 5.3 and 6.0. Averaged across the sexes that is 27.3, against a global figure of 24.6.
What share of adults in Australia are overweight or obese?: Our estimate from the mean and SD: 69% of men have a BMI of 25 or more, and 33% are at 30 or more. For women it is 62% and 30%. These assume a normal curve, so the true obesity shares are likely a few points higher.
Is a BMI of 25 high in Australia?: A BMI of 25 is the WHO line between healthy weight and overweight. In Australia it is higher than about 31% of men and 38% of women. So for men here it is below the middle of the pack.
How does Australia compare with Malta?: Men in Malta average 28.0 against 27.7 in Australia; women 26.6 against 26.9. Malta ranks 45th, Australia 46th.

Source: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, Lancet 2017, age-standardised mean BMI for 2016. Percentiles on this page are our estimate from a normal distribution with the stated mean and SD.

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🇦🇺Average BMI in Australia