Wetall is a specialist in tall people, so it makes sense to look at the average height of people in every country in the world, so you know where you can blend in on holiday.
Numerous studies are regularly carried out around the world to define the average height of populations in each country. This provides a global picture of the population height of each country. However, some population size studies are not conducted on a large enough scale to make them valid. We will therefore present different rankings: official and unofficial ones. We will also look at the trends in average heights over time by country. Finally, some videos and external links will help us dig deeper into the matter.
Foreword
It is now fully accepted that the three most influential factors in growth are
- food
- the environment
- genes.
The following figures show that the evolution of a country’s standard of living over the decades has an influence on the evolution of its average population size.
Official ranking
According to the official ranking of scientifically attested average heights, the Netherlands is the country with the tallest average male population. They are followed by Belgians, Estonians and Latvians. Among women, Latvians are the tallest, followed by Dutch, Estonians and Czechs.
The most important study carried out on the subject is the one directed by James Bentham. They analysed 1472 studies from 200 countries:
Average height for men per country:
- Holland, 182,5 cm
- Latvia, 181,4 cm
- Germany, 179,9 cm
- France, 179,7 cm
- Sweden, 179,7 cm
- Finland, 179,6 cm
- Australia, 179,2 cm
- Canada 178,1 cm
- Italy, 177,8 cm
- United Kingdom, 177,5 cm
All the ranking here
Average women per country:
- Latvia, 169,8 cm
- Holland, 168,7
- Finland, 165,9
- Germany, 165,9
- Australia, 165,9
- Sweden, 165,7
- Russia, 165,3
- France, 164,9
- Greece, 164,9
- Italy, 164,6
UK is 12th with 164,4
All the ranking here
Unofficial rankings
Other smaller studies have been carried out and have shown different results. Often the sample size was not large enough to be representative of the population. Therefore, the following ranking is an unofficial one.
World rankings for males 2021
| # | Country | Men in cm | Men in inches |
| 1 | Montenegro | 183,4 | 6 ft 0 in |
| 2 | Serbia | 182 | 5 ft 11 1⁄2 in |
| 3 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 181,7 | 5 ft 11 1⁄2 in |
| 4 | Sweden | 181,5 | 5 ft 11 1⁄2 in |
| 5 | Lithuania | 181,3 | 5 ft 11 1⁄2 in |
| 6 | Iceland | 181 | 5 ft 11 1⁄2 in |
| 7 | Netherlands | 180,8 | 5 ft 11 in |
| 8 | Croatia | 180,4 | 5 ft 11 in |
| 9 | Denmark | 180,4 | 5 ft 11 in |
| 10 | Slovenia | 180,3 | 5 ft 11 in |
| 11 | Czech Republic | 180,3 | 5 ft 11 in |
| 12 | Norway | 179,7 | 5 ft 10 1⁄2 in |
| 13 | Slovakia | 179,4 | 5 ft 10 1⁄2 in |
| 14 | Estonia | 179,1 | 5 ft 10 1⁄2 in |
| 15 | Austria | 179 | 5 ft 10 1⁄2 in |
| 16 | Finland | 178,9 | 5 ft 10 1⁄2 in |
| 17 | Poland | 178,7 | 5 ft 10 1⁄2 in |
| 18 | Belgium | 178,6 | 5 ft 10 1⁄2 in |
| 19 | Switzerland | 178,2 | 5 ft 10 in |
| 20 | Russia | 177,2 | 5 ft 10 in |
| 21 | Israel | 177 | 5 ft 9 1⁄2 in |
| 22 | Greece | 177 | 5 ft 9 1⁄2 in |
| 23 | New Zealand | 177 | 5 ft 9 1⁄2 in |
| 24 | Ireland | 177 | 5 ft 9 1⁄2 in |
| 25 | Italy | 176,5 | 5 ft 9 1⁄2 in |
| 26 | Tonga | 176,1 | 5 ft 9 1⁄2 in |
| 27 | Hungary | 176 | 5 ft 9 1⁄2 in |
| 28 | France | 175,6 | 5 ft 9 in |
| 29 | Australia | 175,6 | 5 ft 9 in |
| 30 | Germany | 175,4 | 5 ft 9 in |
World rankings for females 2021
| # | Country | Women in centimeters | Women in inches |
| 1 | Montenegro | 169,4 | |
| 2 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 169,4 | 5 ft 6 1⁄2 in |
| 3 | Belgium | 168,1 | 5 ft 6 in |
| 4 | Iceland | 168 | 5 ft 6 in |
| 5 | Lithuania | 167,5 | 5 ft 6 in |
| 6 | Netherlands | 167,5 | 5 ft 6 in |
| 7 | Slovenia | 167,4 | 5 ft 6 in |
| 8 | Czech Republic | 167,2 | 5 ft 6 in |
| 9 | Norway | 167,1 | 5 ft 6 in |
| 10 | Serbia | 166,8 | 5 ft 5 1⁄2 in |
| 11 | Sweden | 166,8 | 5 ft 5 1⁄2 in |
| 12 | Samoa | 166,6 | 5 ft 5 1⁄2 in |
| 13 | Croatia | 166,5 | 5 ft 5 1⁄2 in |
| 14 | Austria | 166 | 5 ft 5 1⁄2 in |
| 15 | Israel | 166 | 5 ft 5 1⁄2 in |
| 16 | Slovakia | 165,6 | 5 ft 5 in |
| 17 | Azerbaijan | 165,4 | 5 ft 5 in |
| 18 | Finland | 165,3 | 5 ft 5 in |
| 19 | Tonga | 165,3 | 5 ft 5 in |
| 20 | Poland | 165,1 | 5 ft 5 in |
| 21 | Greece | 165 | 5 ft 5 in |
| 22 | Russia | 164,1 | 5 ft 4 1⁄2 in |
| 23 | New Zealand | 164 | 5 ft 4 1⁄2 in |
| 24 | Hungary | 164 | 5 ft 4 1⁄2 in |
| 25 | Portugal | 163,7 | 5 ft 4 1⁄2 in |
| 26 | Bulgaria | 163,2 | 5 ft 4 1⁄2 in |
| 27 | Ireland | 163 | 5 ft 4 in |
| 28 | Spain | 163 | 5 ft 4 in |
| 29 | Senegal | 163 | 5 ft 4 in |
| 30 | Germany | 162,8 | 5 ft 4 in |
source: worldpopulationrevue.com
Studies about height average in the world
| Country/Region | Average height of men | Average height of women | Year | |
| Dinaric Alps | 185.6 cm (6 ft 1 in) | 171.8 cm (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in) | 2005 | |
| Bosnia Herzegovina | 183.9 cm (6 ft 0 in) | 171.8 cm (5 ft 7 in) | 2014 | |
| Montenegro | 183.4 cm (6 ft 0 in) | 169.4 cm (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in) | 2017 | |
| Serbia | 182.0 cm (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | 166.8 cm (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in) | 2012 | |
| Island | 181 cm (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) | 2007 | |
| Bosnia Herzegovina | 181.7 cm (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | 169.4 cm (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in) | 2017 | |
| Sweden | 181.5 cm (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | 166.8 cm (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in) | 2008 | |
| Lithuania | 181.3 cm (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | 167.5 cm (5 ft 6 in) | 2001 | |
| The Netherlands | 180.8 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 167.5 cm (5 ft 6 in) | 2013 | |
| Finland | 180.7 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 167.2 cm (5 ft 6 in) | 2010–2011 | |
| Croatia | 180.4 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 166.49 cm (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in) | 2006–2008 | |
| Denmark | 180.4 cm (5 ft 11 in) | N/A | 2012 | |
| Slovenia | 180.3 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 167.4 cm (5 ft 6 in) | 2011 | |
| Czech Republic | 180.31 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 167.22 cm (5 ft 6 in) | 2001 | |
| Austria | 179 cm (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | 166 cm (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in) | 2006 | |
| Norway | 179.7 cm (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | 167.1 cm (5 ft 6 in) | 2012 | |
| Norway | 179.7 cm (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | 167 cm (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in) | 2008–2009 | |
| Kosovo | 179.52 cm (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | 165.72 cm (5 ft 5 in) | 2017 | |
| Slovakia | 179.4 cm (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | 165.6 cm (5 ft 5 in) | 2004 | |
| Estonia | 179.1 cm (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | N/A | 2003 | |
| Germany | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) | 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) | 2009 | |
| Finland | 178.9 cm (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | 165.3 cm (5 ft 5 in) | 1994 | |
| Poland | 178.7 cm (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | 165.1 cm (5 ft 5 in) | 2010 | |
| Belgium | 178.6 cm (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | 168.1 cm (5 ft 6 in) | 2001 | |
| Lithuania (city-dwellers) | 178.4 cm (5 ft 10 in) | N/A | 2005 | |
| Switzerland | 178.2 cm (5 ft 10 in) | N/A | 2009 | |
| Greece | 177 cm (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) | 2003 | |
| Ireland | 177 cm (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) | 2007 | |
| Israel | 177 cm (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | 166 cm (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in) | 2010 | |
| New Zealand | 177 cm (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | 164 cm (5 ft 4 1⁄2 in) | 2007 | |
| Sweden | 177.9 cm (5 ft 10 in) | 164.6 cm (5 ft 5 in) | 1987–1994 | |
| Ireland | 177.5 cm (5 ft 10 in) | 163.5 cm (5 ft 4 1⁄2 in) | 2001 | |
| Hungary | 177.3 cm (5 ft 10 in) | N/A | 2005 | |
| India | 177.3 cm (5 ft 10 in) | N/A | 2013 | |
| Italy | 177.2 cm (5 ft 10 in) | 167.8 cm (5 ft 6 in) | 2001 | |
| Russia | 177.2 cm (5 ft 10 in) | 164.1 cm (5 ft 4 1⁄2 in) | 2004 | |
| United Kingdom | 177.0 cm (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | 162.0 cm (5 ft 4 in) | 2009 | |
| USA | 177.0 cm (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | 163.3 cm (5 ft 4 1⁄2 in) | 2015–2016 | |
| Hungary | 176 cm (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | 164 cm (5 ft 4 1⁄2 in) | 2000s | |
| Italy | 176.5 cm (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | 162.5 cm (5 ft 4 in) | 1999–2004 | |
| Lithuania | 176.2 cm (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | N/A | 2005 | |
| Tonga | 176.1 cm (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | 165.3 cm (5 ft 5 in) | 2001 | |
| Australia | 175.6 cm (5 ft 9 in) | 161.8 cm (5 ft 3 1⁄2 in) | 2011–2012 | |
| France | 175.6 cm (5 ft 9 in) | 162.5 cm (5 ft 4 in) | 2003–2004 | |
| USA | 175.5 cm (5 ft 9 in) | 162.6 cm (5 ft 4 in) | 2015-2016 | |
| Germany | 175.4 cm (5 ft 9 in) | 162.8 cm (5 ft 4 in) | 2007 |
Changes in population height over time
The majority of countries have seen their quality of life improve in recent decades. This has had a direct impact on the increase of their average height.
The countries that have experienced the greatest growth are Iranian men, who have increased their height by 16.5 cm since 1914, and South Korean women, who have increased their height by 20.2 cm.
The results in pictures :
change in height (in cm) :
Resources
Videos
Why are the Dutch so tall?
Articles
- Study by the Imperial College of London
- Wikipedia page on anthopometry
- eLife study by Jame Bentham
- Wikipedia article on average height of inhabitants by country
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