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Average BMI in Solomon Islands

Men in Solomon Islands have an average BMI of 25.8, women 27.1. Both means fall in the WHO overweight band for men and overweight for women. That puts Solomon Islands 90th of 186 countries in our data, ranked from highest BMI to lowest.

Key numbers

Men
25.8
Overweight
Women
27.1
Overweight
SD, men / women
5.5 / 6.2
global SD
vs global mean
+1.3
women +2.3
Rank
90 of 186
1 = highest BMI
Est. obese
22% / 32%
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 18.59%8%
Healthy weight18.5 to 2535%28%
Overweight25 to 3034%31%
Obese30 and over22%32%

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.

Solomon Islands 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
28Fiji26.829.027.9Oceania
46Australia27.726.927.3Oceania
87Oman26.526.526.5Asia
88Tunisia25.727.326.5Africa
89Mongolia26.126.826.5Asia
90Solomon Islands25.827.126.5Oceania
91Armenia25.727.226.4Asia
92Colombia26.026.826.4Americas
93Iceland27.225.626.4Europe
96Vanuatu25.727.026.4Oceania
113Papua New Guinea25.426.025.7Oceania

What a given BMI means in Solomon Islands

Share of adults with a lower BMI than each value, estimated from mean and SD
BMIWHO bandLower, menLower, women
20.0Healthy weight15%13%
22.5Healthy weight27%23%
25.0Overweight44%37%
27.5Overweight62%53%
30.0Obese78%68%
32.5Obese89%81%
35.0Obese95%90%

Read it as: a man with BMI 30 in Solomon Islands has a higher BMI than 78% of men. Values under 1% or over 99% are shown as <1 and >99.

In plain language

The standard deviation for men in Solomon Islands is 5.5. About two thirds of men have a BMI between 20.3 and 31.3; for women the middle two thirds run from 20.9 to 33.3. Compared with the global mean, men here are 1.3 points higher and women 2.3 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 Solomon Islands?
25.8 for men and 27.1 for women, with standard deviations of 5.5 and 6.2. Averaged across the sexes that is 26.5, against a global figure of 24.6.
What share of adults in Solomon Islands are overweight or obese?
Our estimate from the mean and SD: 56% of men have a BMI of 25 or more, and 22% are at 30 or more. For women it is 63% and 32%. These assume a normal curve, so the true obesity shares are likely a few points higher.
Is a BMI of 25 high in Solomon Islands?
A BMI of 25 is the WHO line between healthy weight and overweight. In Solomon Islands it is higher than about 44% of men and 37% of women. So for men here it is below the middle of the pack.
How does Solomon Islands compare with Mongolia?
Men in Mongolia average 26.1 against 25.8 in Solomon Islands; women 26.8 against 27.1. Mongolia ranks 89th, Solomon Islands 90th.

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