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Average BMI in Fiji

Men in Fiji have an average BMI of 26.8, women 29.0. Both means fall in the WHO overweight band for men and overweight for women. That puts Fiji 28th of 186 countries in our data, ranked from highest BMI to lowest.

Key numbers

Men
26.8
Overweight
Women
29.0
Overweight
SD, men / women
5.5 / 6.2
global SD
vs global mean
+2.3
women +4.2
Rank
28 of 186
1 = highest BMI
Est. obese
28% / 44%
men / women, BMI 30+

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Estimated share in each WHO category

Estimated from mean and SD with a normal curve, not surveyed shares
CategoryBMIMenWomen
Underweightunder 18.57%5%
Healthy weight18.5 to 2531%21%
Overweight25 to 3035%30%
Obese30 and over28%44%

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.

Fiji among its neighbours

Ranking neighbours (three above and below) plus every Oceania country in our data
#CountryMenWomenBothRegion
1Samoa30.634.332.5Oceania
2Tonga30.734.032.4Oceania
3Kiribati29.231.330.3Oceania
6Micronesia28.331.529.9Oceania
8French Polynesia29.729.629.6Oceania
21New Zealand28.328.128.2Oceania
25Barbados26.529.427.9Americas
26Jamaica26.029.927.9Americas
27Argentina28.027.827.9Americas
28Fiji26.829.027.9Oceania
29Lebanon28.127.627.9Asia
30Trinidad and Tobago26.828.927.9Americas
31Georgia27.727.927.8Asia
46Australia27.726.927.3Oceania
90Solomon Islands25.827.126.5Oceania
96Vanuatu25.727.026.4Oceania
113Papua New Guinea25.426.025.7Oceania

What a given BMI means in Fiji

Share of adults with a lower BMI than each value, estimated from mean and SD
BMIWHO bandLower, menLower, women
20.0Healthy weight11%7%
22.5Healthy weight22%15%
25.0Overweight37%26%
27.5Overweight55%40%
30.0Obese72%56%
32.5Obese85%71%
35.0Obese93%83%

Read it as: a man with BMI 30 in Fiji has a higher BMI than 72% of men. Values under 1% or over 99% are shown as <1 and >99.

In plain language

The standard deviation for men in Fiji is 5.5. About two thirds of men have a BMI between 21.3 and 32.3; for women the middle two thirds run from 22.8 to 35.2. Compared with the global mean, men here are 2.3 points higher and women 4.2 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 Fiji?
26.8 for men and 29.0 for women, with standard deviations of 5.5 and 6.2. Averaged across the sexes that is 27.9, against a global figure of 24.6.
What share of adults in Fiji are overweight or obese?
Our estimate from the mean and SD: 63% of men have a BMI of 25 or more, and 28% are at 30 or more. For women it is 74% and 44%. These assume a normal curve, so the true obesity shares are likely a few points higher.
Is a BMI of 25 high in Fiji?
A BMI of 25 is the WHO line between healthy weight and overweight. In Fiji it is higher than about 37% of men and 26% of women. So for men here it is below the middle of the pack.
How does Fiji compare with Argentina?
Men in Argentina average 28.0 against 26.8 in Fiji; women 27.8 against 29.0. Argentina ranks 27th, Fiji 28th.

NCD-RisC does not publish standard deviations. SD for countries added in 2026-10 uses the global SD. Fiji is one of them, so the SD, the category shares and the percentiles above use the global spread rather than one measured here.

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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Also by country: Average height by country and Life expectancy by country.