What is the average BMI in New Zealand?

28.3 for men and 28.1 for women, with standard deviations of 5.5 and 6.2. Averaged across the sexes that is 28.2, against a global figure of 24.6.

What share of adults in New Zealand are overweight or obese?

Our estimate from the mean and SD: 73% of men have a BMI of 25 or more, and 38% are at 30 or more. For women it is 69% and 38%. These assume a normal curve, so the true obesity shares are likely a few points higher.

Is a BMI of 25 high in New Zealand?

A BMI of 25 is the WHO line between healthy weight and overweight. In New Zealand it is higher than about 27% of men and 31% of women. So for men here it is below the middle of the pack.

How does New Zealand compare with Bahamas?

Men in Bahamas average 27.3 against 28.3 in New Zealand; women 29.1 against 28.1. Bahamas ranks 20th, New Zealand 21st.

Average BMI in New Zealand

Men in New Zealand have an average BMI of 28.3, women 28.1. Both means fall in the WHO overweight band for men and overweight for women. That puts New Zealand 21st of 186 countries in our data, ranked from highest BMI to lowest.

Key numbers

Men

28.3

Overweight

Women

28.1

Overweight

SD, men / women

5.5 / 6.2

global SD

vs global mean

+3.8

women +3.3

Rank

21 of 186

1 = highest BMI

Est. obese

38% / 38%

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%	6%
Healthy weight	18.5 to 25	24%	25%
Overweight	25 to 30	35%	31%
Obese	30 and over	38%	38%

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.

New Zealand 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
18	Syria	27.6	29.5	28.6	Asia
19	Libya	27.1	29.6	28.4	Africa
20	Bahamas	27.3	29.1	28.2	Americas
21	New Zealand	28.3	28.1	28.2	Oceania
22	Chile	28.0	28.3	28.1	Americas
23	Mexico	27.6	28.6	28.1	Americas
24	Turkey	27.3	28.9	28.1	Europe
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 New Zealand

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%	10%
22.5	Healthy weight	15%	18%
25.0	Overweight	27%	31%
27.5	Overweight	44%	46%
30.0	Obese	62%	62%
32.5	Obese	78%	76%
35.0	Obese	89%	87%

Read it as: a man with BMI 30 in New Zealand has a higher BMI than 62% of men. Values under 1% or over 99% are shown as <1 and >99.

In plain language

The standard deviation for men in New Zealand is 5.5. About two thirds of men have a BMI between 22.8 and 33.8; for women the middle two thirds run from 21.9 to 34.3. Compared with the global mean, men here are 3.8 points higher and women 3.3 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 New Zealand?: 28.3 for men and 28.1 for women, with standard deviations of 5.5 and 6.2. Averaged across the sexes that is 28.2, against a global figure of 24.6.
What share of adults in New Zealand are overweight or obese?: Our estimate from the mean and SD: 73% of men have a BMI of 25 or more, and 38% are at 30 or more. For women it is 69% and 38%. These assume a normal curve, so the true obesity shares are likely a few points higher.
Is a BMI of 25 high in New Zealand?: A BMI of 25 is the WHO line between healthy weight and overweight. In New Zealand it is higher than about 27% of men and 31% of women. So for men here it is below the middle of the pack.
How does New Zealand compare with Bahamas?: Men in Bahamas average 27.3 against 28.3 in New Zealand; women 29.1 against 28.1. Bahamas ranks 20th, New Zealand 21st.

NCD-RisC does not publish standard deviations. SD for countries added in 2026-10 uses the global SD. New Zealand 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.

🇳🇿Average BMI in New Zealand