What is the average BMI in Kiribati?

29.2 for men and 31.3 for women, with standard deviations of 5.5 and 6.2. Averaged across the sexes that is 30.3, against a global figure of 24.6.

What share of adults in Kiribati are overweight or obese?

Our estimate from the mean and SD: 78% of men have a BMI of 25 or more, and 44% are at 30 or more. For women it is 85% and 58%. These assume a normal curve, so the true obesity shares are likely a few points higher.

Is a BMI of 25 high in Kiribati?

A BMI of 25 is the WHO line between healthy weight and overweight. In Kiribati it is higher than about 22% of men and 15% of women. So for men here it is below the middle of the pack.

How does Kiribati compare with Tonga?

Men in Tonga average 30.7 against 29.2 in Kiribati; women 34.0 against 31.3. Tonga ranks 2nd, Kiribati 3rd.

Average BMI in Kiribati

Men in Kiribati have an average BMI of 29.2, women 31.3. Both means fall in the WHO overweight band for men and obese for women. That puts Kiribati 3rd of 186 countries in our data, ranked from highest BMI to lowest.

Key numbers

Men

29.2

Overweight

Women

31.3

Obese

SD, men / women

5.5 / 6.2

global SD

vs global mean

+4.7

women +6.5

Rank

3 of 186

1 = highest BMI

Est. obese

44% / 58%

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	3%	2%
Healthy weight	18.5 to 25	20%	14%
Overweight	25 to 30	34%	26%
Obese	30 and over	44%	58%

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.

Kiribati 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
4	Saint Lucia	29.8	30.6	30.2	Americas
5	Kuwait	29.2	30.7	29.9	Asia
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
46	Australia	27.7	26.9	27.3	Oceania
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 Kiribati

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	5%	3%
22.5	Healthy weight	11%	8%
25.0	Overweight	22%	15%
27.5	Overweight	38%	27%
30.0	Obese	56%	42%
32.5	Obese	73%	58%
35.0	Obese	85%	72%

Read it as: a man with BMI 30 in Kiribati has a higher BMI than 56% of men. Values under 1% or over 99% are shown as <1 and >99.

In plain language

The standard deviation for men in Kiribati is 5.5. About two thirds of men have a BMI between 23.7 and 34.7; for women the middle two thirds run from 25.1 to 37.5. Compared with the global mean, men here are 4.7 points higher and women 6.5 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 Kiribati?: 29.2 for men and 31.3 for women, with standard deviations of 5.5 and 6.2. Averaged across the sexes that is 30.3, against a global figure of 24.6.
What share of adults in Kiribati are overweight or obese?: Our estimate from the mean and SD: 78% of men have a BMI of 25 or more, and 44% are at 30 or more. For women it is 85% and 58%. These assume a normal curve, so the true obesity shares are likely a few points higher.
Is a BMI of 25 high in Kiribati?: A BMI of 25 is the WHO line between healthy weight and overweight. In Kiribati it is higher than about 22% of men and 15% of women. So for men here it is below the middle of the pack.
How does Kiribati compare with Tonga?: Men in Tonga average 30.7 against 29.2 in Kiribati; women 34.0 against 31.3. Tonga ranks 2nd, Kiribati 3rd.

NCD-RisC does not publish standard deviations. SD for countries added in 2026-10 uses the global SD. Kiribati 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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🇰🇮Average BMI in Kiribati