Height varies widely around the world, with some countries falling behind.
Using medical data, INSIDER calculated average heights for the 25 shortest countries.
Scroll down to see the nations with the world's shortest people.
You can find more stories on the INSIDER homepage.
Top publishers bring the stories you want, straight to your inbox, every day of the week.
Thanks for registering!
Access your favorite topics on the go in a personalized feed.
Junrey Balawing of the Philippines, 25, was named the world's shortest living man in September 2015. He is only 59.9 cm (1 ft 11.58 in) tall.
While it's the most extreme example, it's part of a larger scientific phenomenon: Filipinos are among the smallest people on earth.
INSIDER has ranked average height data from a medical database operated by usCollaboration on NCD risk factors, a project associated with Imperial College London.
List separate figures for the height of men and women in each country: we take an average of these two figures to give a rough idea of the average person's height in the country, and we also list the figures separately for men and on women.
Scroll down to see the 25 countries below.
25. Sri Lanka: 160.12 cm (5 ft 3.04 in)
REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
The average Sri Lankan is 160.12 cm (5 ft 3.04 in) tall.
The average male in Sri Lanka is 165.68 cm (5 ft 5.23 in) tall.
(Video) Which country has the shortest people?
The average woman in Sri Lanka is 154.56 cm (5 ft 0.85 in) tall.
24. Honduras: 160.11 cm (5 ft 3.03 in)
Guayo Fuentes/Shutterstock
The average person in Honduras is 160.11 cm (5 ft 3.03 in) tall.
The average Honduran male is 166.39 cm tall.
The average Honduran woman is 5.056 inches (153.84 cm) tall.
1. Timor-Leste — 155.47cm (5 feet 1.28 inches) People on the Southeast Asian island of Timor are an average 155.47cm (5 feet 1.28 inches) tall. The average Timorese man is 159.79cm (5 feet 2.90 inches) tall.
At just shy of the five foot three mark, East Timorese men are the shortest in the world. And while they've grown from being just five feet tall in 1896, this progress has not been uniform. East Timorese men actually reached a peak height of five foot and 3.3 inches during the 1960s.
The country with the shortest women is Guatemala, where the average height is 149 cm, while Latvian women are 20 cm taller (at 169 cm). There are also regional variations in the heights of women.
The shortest tribe are the Mbutsi people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with an average height of 1.37 m (4 ft 6 in) for men and 1.35 m (4 ft 5 in) for women, with some groups averaging only 1.32 m (4 ft 4 in) for men and 1.24 m (4 ft 1 in) for women.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average age-adjusted height for American men 20 years and older is is 69.1 inches (175.4 cm), or 5 feet 9 inches tall, and the average height of an American female over 20 years of age is 63.5 inches (161.5 cm), or 5' 3.5" tall.
Latvian women are the tallest on the planet, with an average height of 170cm. * The top four tallest countries for men are the Netherlands, Belgium, Estonia and Latvia. The top four tallest countries for women are Latvia, the Netherlands, Estonia and the Czech Republic.
Hawaii is the shortest state, with the lowest average combined height for both males and females at 5'6″. New Mexico follows closely behind as the second shortest state with an average height of 5'6.4″.
At the other end of the spectrum are the top ten countries with the shortest average height, which currently include: Indonesia 62.2 inches. Bolivia 62.9 inches. The Philippines 63.7 inches.
The tallest women tend to be clustered in the northern plains states, with the tallest living in South Dakota. ... The tallest states in the United States based on the average height for women (164 centimeters or above) are:
The Netherlands is renowned for its tall population and unsurprisingly the nation has the tallest average height on Earth. The average 19-year-old man stands at 183 cm, while women of the same age are typically 172 cm.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, short stature means an estimated final height below 5 feet 3 inches for boys or 4 feet 11 inches for girls. The average height in the United States is 5 feet 8 inches for men and 5 feet 4 inches for women.
What's the Average Height for Women and How Does That Affect Weight? The average height for women in the United States is about 5 foot 4 inches (or about 63.7 inches) tall.
In reality, it doesn't make as big of a difference as people think. In fact, while tall people may have longer stride length, they also generally carry more weight than shorter people, which can even out the playing field (although, this, of course, varies from individual to individual).
The fastest road race in the world is the Silver State Classic Challenge held on Nevada's Route 318, in which the fastest cars can surpass speeds of 394 km/h (245 mph) over the 145-km (90-mile) course.
Even though Mexico is not considered to be a part of South America, we would still like to mention its height average. The average male height in Mexico is 5 feet 5.5 inches (170.2 cm) and the average female height in Mexico is 5 feet 1.8 inches (157.9 cm).
In a paper published in Nature, the researchers show that northern Europeans seem to have a stronger genetic link to a particularly tall nomadic population from the Eurasian steppe who came to Europe around 4,500 years ago. Because of these genes, northern Europeans are still tall compared to others on the continent.
Young Chinese often get down on themselves for being too short, but the average height of 19-year-old males in China in 2019 was 175.7 centimeters, edging out South Korea for the coveted “tallest post-2000s cohort in East Asia” crown.
Racial gaps in life expectancy have long been recognized. The same CDC data show that nationally, Hispanic Americans have the longest life expectancy, followed by white and then Black Americans.
According to the report, the Netherlands is still the world's tallest nation with the average height in the country for men 183.78 cm, or 6 foot, and 170.36 cm, or 5 foot 7 inches for women.
Ethnicity is an important factor determining the height of an individual. Ethnically different populations might respond differently to the same environmental factors and thus the final height in different ethnic groups is different. Height is a polygenic trait with a high degree of heritability.
The differences in how people choose each other are substantial. Short men are 269% more likely to marry someone of the same height than a man of average height, and 1,450% more likely to marry someone taller. Tall men are unlikely to to partner with someone who's their own height, let alone someone taller.
According to the latest CDC stats, these are the average heights for U.S. adult men based on age: Ages 20 to 39: 176.1 centimeters, or roughly 5 feet, 9 inches. Ages 40 to 59: 175.8 centimeters, or roughly 5 feet, 9 inches. Age 60 and older: 173.4 centimeters, or roughly 5 feet, 8 inches.
Researchers analyzed death certificate data for 14,440 men and 16,390 women aged 25 and up. According to researchers, an additional inch increase in height generated a 2.2 percent higher risk of death from all causes for men, and a 2.5 percent higher risk of death from all causes for women.
This helps us sort answers on the page. , men are on average cm 175 (5.741 ft), women cm 163 (5.348 ft). The average varies geographically (taller in the north and center) and for age groups (taller 18–35 yrs old). In 1900 the average height of men was cm 161 (5.282 ft).
The average person in France is 172.31cm (5 feet 7.83 inches) tall. The average French man is 179.73cm (5 feet 10.76 inches) tall. The average French woman is 164.88cm (5 feet 4.91 inches) tall.
According to their own statements, men aged 19 years who were born in the Netherlands in 2020 are on average 182.9 cm tall. Women of the same age born in the Netherlands measure 169.3 cm.
According to Japan's National Health and Nutrition Survey, the average height for a man in Japan was only 160.3 cm (5 feet 2 inches) and the average height for women in Japan was only 148.9 cm (4 feet 9 inches) 70 years ago, which shows that there is approximately 10 cm height increase in Japan over the 70 years.
According to the research that is published in the journal eLife, Portuguese men's average height is the shortest male average in Europe, at 5 feet 7 inches (174 cm); while Maltese women's average height is the shortest female average in Europe, at 5 feet 2.7 inches (160.8 cm).
Latvian women are the tallest on the planet, with an average height of 170cm. * The top four tallest countries for men are the Netherlands, Belgium, Estonia and Latvia.
The tallest adult men in America live in Iowa and Alabama, while the tallest women live in South Dakota. Hawaii, meanwhile, can lay claim to the shortest members of either sex.
Sandra Elaine Allen (June 18, 1955 – August 13, 2008) was an American woman recognized by the Guinness World Records as the tallest woman in the world. She was 7 feet 7 inches (231 cm) tall. ...
Sandy Allen
Allen on the Wildwood New Jersey boardwalk in 1978
Born
Sandra Elaine AllenJune 18, 1955 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Sweden. The stunning Scandinavian nation of Sweden is known for surreal forests, coastal islands, glittering lakes and glacial mountains. It is also known for being home to the most beautiful women in the world. With complete elegance, sporty charm and passionately deep eyes, women of Sweden are perfect beauties.
China is the top country by female population in the world. As of 2022, female population in China was 691 million persons that accounts for 17.55% of the world's female population. The top 5 countries (others are India, the United States of America, Indonesia, and Pakistan) account for 45.67% of it.
The Netherlands was ranked the best country in the world for women, according to a new report recently published by the CEOWORLD magazine. Norway and Sweden follow up in second and third place, respectively. ... The World's Best Countries For Women, 2021.
Afshin Esmaeil Ghaderzadeh (Iran, b. 13 July 2002) is the new world's shortest man living, measuring 65.24 cm (2 ft 1.6 in). He is almost 7 cm (2.7 in) shorter than the previous record holder, 36-year-old Edward "Niño" Hernandez (Colombia).
Men. Chandra was declared the shortest human adult ever documented and verified, measuring 21.51 in (54.64 cm). Height confirmed by Guinness World Records.
Chandra Dangi (Nepal, b. 1939) was 72 years old when his height was officially measured by Guinness World Records at 54.6cm (21.5 in). This made him the new shortest man living (mobile) as well as the shortest male ever recorded.
The average height of men and women on the Chinese mainland is 171.8 cm (ninety-third in the world) and 159.7 cm (eighty-seventh in the world), with an increase in 11 cm and 10 cm, respectively, in the past 100 years [24].
According to the research that is published in the journal eLife, Portuguese men's average height is the shortest male average in Europe, at 5 feet 7 inches (174 cm); while Maltese women's average height is the shortest female average in Europe, at 5 feet 2.7 inches (160.8 cm).
According to Japan's National Health and Nutrition Survey, the average height for a man in Japan was only 160.3 cm (5 feet 2 inches) and the average height for women in Japan was only 148.9 cm (4 feet 9 inches) 70 years ago, which shows that there is approximately 10 cm height increase in Japan over the 70 years.
'” In reality, it doesn't make as big of a difference as people think. In fact, while tall people may have longer stride length, they also generally carry more weight than shorter people, which can even out the playing field (although, this, of course, varies from individual to individual).
"What we found was a small association between height and intelligence such that people who are taller tend to be smarter." While the genetic correllation between being tall and being smart was "moderate," study authors wrote, people who have both traits share common genetic variants.
“Children who are short because their parents are short (familial short stature) or due to no obvious underlying cause (idiopathic short stature) usually grow at a normal rate for their age, or a slightly slower rate, and they track along a centile line on the growth chart,” says professor Dattani.
For parents of children diagnosed with short stature, the biggest concern is the emotional toll on their loved ones. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, short stature means an estimated final height below 5 feet 3 inches for boys or 4 feet 11 inches for girls.
A study on women and men's height preferences found that women are most satisfied when their partner was 8 inches (21cm) taller. Men are most satisfied when they are 3 inches (8cm) taller than their partner. Another study found that among men, 13.5 percent prefer to date only women shorter than them.
Hobby: Shopping, Table tennis, Snowboarding, Rafting, Motor sports, Homebrewing, Taxidermy
Introduction: My name is Duncan Muller, I am a enchanting, good, gentle, modern, tasty, nice, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
