Which country has the tallest people?

Netherlands tops our list. Men there average 182.5 cm (5 ft 12 in) and women 168.7 cm (5 ft 6 in). Belgium and Estonia follow at 181.7 cm and 181.6 cm for men. Countries not in our 186-country set, such as Montenegro and Bosnia, also sit near the top of NCD-RisC's full list.

Which is the shortest country in this list?

Timor-Leste, where men average 159.8 cm (5 ft 3 in) and women 151.2 cm. Yemen and Laos are within a centimetre or two. This is the shortest of the 186 countries we cover, not of the world; NCD-RisC lists about 200 countries and several in Southeast Asia and Central America are shorter still.

Why do average heights differ between countries?

Mostly nutrition and health in childhood, especially the first two years, on top of genetics. Countries whose averages rose fastest in the 20th century did it through diet and healthcare, not a change in genes: South Korean women gained about 20 cm between the 1896 and 1996 birth cohorts in NCD-RisC's 2016 study. Height stops responding to those factors once growth ends, so a national average moves one generation at a time.

Average height by country

Men worldwide average 171.0 cm (5 ft 7 in), women 159.0 cm (5 ft 3 in). Across the 186 countries in our data, men range from 182.5 cm in Netherlands to 159.8 cm in Timor-Leste, a spread of 22.7 cm. Women range from 169.8 cm (Latvia) to 149.4 cm (Guatemala), 20.4 cm apart.

186 countries, ranked by men's average

#	Country	Men (cm)	Men (ft in)	Women (cm)	Women (ft in)
1	Netherlands	182.5	5 ft 12 in	168.7	5 ft 6 in
2	Belgium	181.7	5 ft 12 in	165.5	5 ft 5 in
3	Estonia	181.6	5 ft 11 in	168.7	5 ft 6 in
4	Denmark	181.4	5 ft 11 in	167.2	5 ft 6 in
5	Latvia	181.4	5 ft 11 in	169.8	5 ft 7 in
6	Bosnia and Herzegovina	180.9	5 ft 11 in	165.8	5 ft 5 in
7	Croatia	180.8	5 ft 11 in	165.6	5 ft 5 in
8	Serbia	180.6	5 ft 11 in	167.7	5 ft 6 in
9	Iceland	180.5	5 ft 11 in	165.9	5 ft 5 in
10	Czechia	180.1	5 ft 11 in	168.5	5 ft 6 in
11	Germany	179.9	5 ft 11 in	165.9	5 ft 5 in
12	Slovenia	179.8	5 ft 11 in	166.1	5 ft 5 in
13	France	179.7	5 ft 11 in	164.9	5 ft 5 in
14	Norway	179.7	5 ft 11 in	165.6	5 ft 5 in
15	Sweden	179.7	5 ft 11 in	165.7	5 ft 5 in
16	Finland	179.6	5 ft 11 in	165.9	5 ft 5 in
17	Slovakia	179.5	5 ft 11 in	167.5	5 ft 6 in
18	Australia	179.2	5 ft 11 in	165.9	5 ft 5 in
19	Lithuania	179.0	5 ft 10 in	166.6	5 ft 6 in
20	Ireland	178.9	5 ft 10 in	165.1	5 ft 5 in
21	Ukraine	178.5	5 ft 10 in	166.3	5 ft 5 in
22	Belarus	178.4	5 ft 10 in	166.3	5 ft 5 in
23	Switzerland	178.4	5 ft 10 in	163.5	5 ft 4 in
24	Montenegro	178.3	5 ft 10 in	164.9	5 ft 5 in
25	North Macedonia	178.3	5 ft 10 in	159.8	5 ft 3 in
26	Bulgaria	178.2	5 ft 10 in	164.8	5 ft 5 in
27	Canada	178.1	5 ft 10 in	163.9	5 ft 5 in
28	Luxembourg	177.9	5 ft 10 in	164.4	5 ft 5 in
29	Italy	177.8	5 ft 10 in	164.6	5 ft 5 in
30	New Zealand	177.7	5 ft 10 in	164.9	5 ft 5 in
31	United Kingdom	177.5	5 ft 10 in	164.4	5 ft 5 in
32	Austria	177.4	5 ft 10 in	164.6	5 ft 5 in
33	French Polynesia	177.4	5 ft 10 in	164.5	5 ft 5 in
34	Greece	177.3	5 ft 10 in	164.9	5 ft 5 in
35	Hungary	177.3	5 ft 10 in	163.7	5 ft 4 in
36	Poland	177.3	5 ft 10 in	164.6	5 ft 5 in
37	United States	177.1	5 ft 10 in	163.5	5 ft 4 in
38	Grenada	177.0	5 ft 10 in	164.5	5 ft 5 in
39	Israel	176.9	5 ft 10 in	161.8	5 ft 4 in
40	Tonga	176.8	5 ft 10 in	165.5	5 ft 5 in
41	Spain	176.6	5 ft 10 in	163.4	5 ft 4 in
42	Russia	176.5	5 ft 9 in	165.3	5 ft 5 in
43	Barbados	175.9	5 ft 9 in	165.3	5 ft 5 in
44	Moldova	175.5	5 ft 9 in	163.2	5 ft 4 in
45	Cyprus	175.0	5 ft 9 in	162.3	5 ft 4 in
46	South Korea	174.9	5 ft 9 in	162.3	5 ft 4 in
47	Romania	174.7	5 ft 9 in	162.7	5 ft 4 in
48	Argentina	174.6	5 ft 9 in	159.2	5 ft 3 in
49	Jamaica	174.5	5 ft 9 in	163.1	5 ft 4 in
50	Taiwan	174.5	5 ft 9 in	161.5	5 ft 4 in
51	Lebanon	174.4	5 ft 9 in	162.4	5 ft 4 in
52	Samoa	174.4	5 ft 9 in	162.0	5 ft 4 in
53	Georgia	174.3	5 ft 9 in	163.0	5 ft 4 in
54	Seychelles	174.2	5 ft 9 in	162.1	5 ft 4 in
55	Turkey	174.2	5 ft 9 in	160.5	5 ft 3 in
56	Tunisia	174.0	5 ft 9 in	160.4	5 ft 3 in
57	Fiji	173.9	5 ft 8 in	161.7	5 ft 4 in
58	Trinidad and Tobago	173.7	5 ft 8 in	160.6	5 ft 3 in
59	Brazil	173.6	5 ft 8 in	160.9	5 ft 3 in
60	Hong Kong	173.6	5 ft 8 in	159.0	5 ft 3 in
61	Iran	173.6	5 ft 8 in	159.7	5 ft 3 in
62	Libya	173.5	5 ft 8 in	162.1	5 ft 4 in
63	Albania	173.4	5 ft 8 in	161.8	5 ft 4 in
64	Uruguay	173.4	5 ft 8 in	162.1	5 ft 4 in
65	Malta	173.3	5 ft 8 in	160.9	5 ft 3 in
66	Cabo Verde	173.2	5 ft 8 in	161.6	5 ft 4 in
67	Senegal	173.1	5 ft 8 in	162.5	5 ft 4 in
68	Portugal	172.9	5 ft 8 in	163.0	5 ft 4 in
69	Paraguay	172.8	5 ft 8 in	159.9	5 ft 3 in
70	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	172.8	5 ft 8 in	160.7	5 ft 3 in
71	Bahamas	172.7	5 ft 8 in	160.7	5 ft 3 in
72	Dominican Republic	172.7	5 ft 8 in	159.0	5 ft 3 in
73	Suriname	172.7	5 ft 8 in	160.7	5 ft 3 in
74	Haiti	172.6	5 ft 8 in	158.7	5 ft 2 in
75	Singapore	172.6	5 ft 8 in	160.3	5 ft 3 in
76	Kuwait	172.1	5 ft 8 in	159.4	5 ft 3 in
77	Puerto Rico	172.1	5 ft 8 in	159.2	5 ft 3 in
78	Palestine	172.1	5 ft 8 in	158.8	5 ft 3 in
79	Armenia	172.0	5 ft 8 in	158.1	5 ft 2 in
80	Cuba	172.0	5 ft 8 in	158.0	5 ft 2 in
81	North Korea	172.0	5 ft 8 in	159.0	5 ft 3 in
82	Turkmenistan	172.0	5 ft 8 in	161.7	5 ft 4 in
83	Saint Lucia	171.9	5 ft 8 in	162.3	5 ft 4 in
84	Chile	171.8	5 ft 8 in	159.4	5 ft 3 in
85	China	171.8	5 ft 8 in	159.7	5 ft 3 in
86	Botswana	171.6	5 ft 8 in	161.4	5 ft 4 in
87	Venezuela	171.6	5 ft 8 in	157.4	5 ft 2 in
88	Tajikistan	171.3	5 ft 7 in	157.3	5 ft 2 in
89	Kyrgyzstan	171.2	5 ft 7 in	159.4	5 ft 3 in
90	Kazakhstan	171.1	5 ft 7 in	159.6	5 ft 3 in
91	Mali	171.1	5 ft 7 in	160.5	5 ft 3 in
92	Jordan	171.0	5 ft 7 in	158.8	5 ft 3 in
93	Japan	170.8	5 ft 7 in	158.3	5 ft 2 in
94	United Arab Emirates	170.5	5 ft 7 in	158.7	5 ft 2 in
95	Mauritius	170.5	5 ft 7 in	157.2	5 ft 2 in
96	Qatar	170.5	5 ft 7 in	159.4	5 ft 3 in
97	Iraq	170.4	5 ft 7 in	158.7	5 ft 2 in
98	Morocco	170.4	5 ft 7 in	157.8	5 ft 2 in
99	Syria	170.4	5 ft 7 in	158.6	5 ft 2 in
100	Chad	170.4	5 ft 7 in	160.2	5 ft 3 in
101	Guyana	170.2	5 ft 7 in	157.9	5 ft 2 in
102	Algeria	170.1	5 ft 7 in	159.1	5 ft 3 in
103	El Salvador	169.8	5 ft 7 in	154.5	5 ft 1 in
104	Azerbaijan	169.7	5 ft 7 in	158.3	5 ft 2 in
105	Kenya	169.6	5 ft 7 in	158.2	5 ft 2 in
106	Colombia	169.5	5 ft 7 in	156.9	5 ft 2 in
107	Uzbekistan	169.4	5 ft 7 in	157.8	5 ft 2 in
108	Burkina Faso	169.3	5 ft 7 in	160.2	5 ft 3 in
109	Kiribati	169.2	5 ft 7 in	157.0	5 ft 2 in
110	Oman	169.2	5 ft 7 in	157.2	5 ft 2 in
111	Thailand	169.2	5 ft 7 in	157.9	5 ft 2 in
112	Mongolia	169.1	5 ft 7 in	158.2	5 ft 2 in
113	Mexico	169.0	5 ft 7 in	156.8	5 ft 2 in
114	Costa Rica	168.9	5 ft 6 in	156.4	5 ft 2 in
115	Ghana	168.8	5 ft 6 in	157.9	5 ft 2 in
116	Belize	168.7	5 ft 6 in	156.9	5 ft 2 in
117	Zimbabwe	168.6	5 ft 6 in	158.2	5 ft 2 in
118	Micronesia	168.5	5 ft 6 in	156.1	5 ft 1 in
119	Panama	168.5	5 ft 6 in	155.5	5 ft 1 in
120	Eritrea	168.4	5 ft 6 in	156.4	5 ft 2 in
121	Togo	168.3	5 ft 6 in	158.3	5 ft 2 in
122	Eswatini	168.1	5 ft 6 in	158.6	5 ft 2 in
123	Vanuatu	168.1	5 ft 6 in	158.2	5 ft 2 in
124	Gabon	167.9	5 ft 6 in	158.8	5 ft 3 in
125	Guinea-Bissau	167.9	5 ft 6 in	158.2	5 ft 2 in
126	Malaysia	167.9	5 ft 6 in	156.3	5 ft 2 in
127	Cameroon	167.8	5 ft 6 in	158.8	5 ft 3 in
128	Bahrain	167.7	5 ft 6 in	156.7	5 ft 2 in
129	Maldives	167.7	5 ft 6 in	155.0	5 ft 1 in
130	Niger	167.7	5 ft 6 in	158.3	5 ft 2 in
131	Saudi Arabia	167.7	5 ft 6 in	155.9	5 ft 1 in
132	Guinea	167.5	5 ft 6 in	157.8	5 ft 2 in
133	Republic of the Congo	167.4	5 ft 6 in	157.6	5 ft 2 in
134	Equatorial Guinea	167.4	5 ft 6 in	157.3	5 ft 2 in
135	Sao Tome and Principe	167.4	5 ft 6 in	158.9	5 ft 3 in
136	Angola	167.3	5 ft 6 in	157.3	5 ft 2 in
137	Benin	167.1	5 ft 6 in	156.2	5 ft 1 in
138	Ecuador	167.1	5 ft 6 in	154.2	5 ft 1 in
139	Namibia	167.0	5 ft 6 in	158.8	5 ft 3 in
140	Pakistan	166.9	5 ft 6 in	153.8	5 ft 1 in
141	Bolivia	166.8	5 ft 6 in	153.9	5 ft 1 in
142	DR Congo	166.8	5 ft 6 in	155.2	5 ft 1 in
143	Central African Republic	166.7	5 ft 6 in	158.0	5 ft 2 in
144	Egypt	166.7	5 ft 6 in	157.3	5 ft 2 in
145	Nicaragua	166.7	5 ft 6 in	154.4	5 ft 1 in
146	South Africa	166.7	5 ft 6 in	158.0	5 ft 2 in
147	Burundi	166.6	5 ft 6 in	154.0	5 ft 1 in
148	Djibouti	166.6	5 ft 6 in	156.1	5 ft 1 in
149	Sudan	166.6	5 ft 6 in	156.0	5 ft 1 in
150	Somalia	166.6	5 ft 6 in	156.1	5 ft 1 in
151	Côte d'Ivoire	166.5	5 ft 6 in	158.1	5 ft 2 in
152	Zambia	166.5	5 ft 6 in	155.8	5 ft 1 in
153	Honduras	166.4	5 ft 6 in	153.8	5 ft 1 in
154	Ethiopia	166.2	5 ft 5 in	155.7	5 ft 1 in
155	Comoros	166.2	5 ft 5 in	155.6	5 ft 1 in
156	Nigeria	165.9	5 ft 5 in	156.3	5 ft 2 in
157	Sri Lanka	165.7	5 ft 5 in	154.6	5 ft 1 in
158	Lesotho	165.6	5 ft 5 in	155.7	5 ft 1 in
159	Uganda	165.6	5 ft 5 in	156.7	5 ft 2 in
160	Gambia	165.4	5 ft 5 in	160.9	5 ft 3 in
161	Afghanistan	165.3	5 ft 5 in	155.1	5 ft 1 in
162	Bhutan	165.3	5 ft 5 in	153.6	5 ft 0 in
163	Peru	165.2	5 ft 5 in	152.9	5 ft 0 in
164	Brunei	165.0	5 ft 5 in	154.0	5 ft 1 in
165	India	164.9	5 ft 5 in	152.6	5 ft 0 in
166	Mozambique	164.8	5 ft 5 in	154.0	5 ft 1 in
167	Tanzania	164.8	5 ft 5 in	155.9	5 ft 1 in
168	Myanmar	164.7	5 ft 5 in	154.4	5 ft 1 in
169	Sierra Leone	164.4	5 ft 5 in	156.6	5 ft 2 in
170	Vietnam	164.4	5 ft 5 in	153.6	5 ft 0 in
171	Solomon Islands	164.1	5 ft 5 in	154.4	5 ft 1 in
172	Bangladesh	163.8	5 ft 4 in	150.8	4 ft 11 in
173	Liberia	163.7	5 ft 4 in	155.7	5 ft 1 in
174	Indonesia	163.6	5 ft 4 in	152.8	5 ft 0 in
175	Papua New Guinea	163.6	5 ft 4 in	154.9	5 ft 1 in
176	Guatemala	163.4	5 ft 4 in	149.4	4 ft 11 in
177	Cambodia	163.3	5 ft 4 in	152.9	5 ft 0 in
178	Mauritania	163.3	5 ft 4 in	157.7	5 ft 2 in
179	Philippines	163.2	5 ft 4 in	149.6	4 ft 11 in
180	Rwanda	162.7	5 ft 4 in	154.8	5 ft 1 in
181	Nepal	162.3	5 ft 4 in	150.9	4 ft 11 in
182	Malawi	162.2	5 ft 4 in	154.4	5 ft 1 in
183	Madagascar	161.5	5 ft 4 in	151.2	4 ft 12 in
184	Laos	160.5	5 ft 3 in	151.3	4 ft 12 in
185	Yemen	159.9	5 ft 3 in	154.0	5 ft 1 in
186	Timor-Leste	159.8	5 ft 3 in	151.2	4 ft 12 in

Click a country for its percentile table and what counts as tall there.

How to read this

Each number is the mean height of adults in that country from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), a pooled analysis of measured, not self-reported, national surveys. We use the youngest generation in their data for every country: people born in 1996, at age 18. Older generations are shorter in most countries.

The ranking uses men's averages. Women's ranks are usually within a place or two but not identical: Latvia has the tallest women while Netherlands has the tallest men.

On each country page we also give the standard deviation (SD), which is how spread out heights are around the mean. With an SD of 7 cm, about two thirds of men fall within 7 cm of the average and about 95% within 14 cm. We use mean and SD with a normal curve to estimate percentiles; real height distributions are close to normal, so the estimates are good to within a point or two. NCD-RisC does not publish SDs. SD for countries added in 2026-10 uses the global SD.

Questions

Which country has the tallest people?: Netherlands tops our list. Men there average 182.5 cm (5 ft 12 in) and women 168.7 cm (5 ft 6 in). Belgium and Estonia follow at 181.7 cm and 181.6 cm for men. Countries not in our 186-country set, such as Montenegro and Bosnia, also sit near the top of NCD-RisC's full list.
Which is the shortest country in this list?: Timor-Leste, where men average 159.8 cm (5 ft 3 in) and women 151.2 cm. Yemen and Laos are within a centimetre or two. This is the shortest of the 186 countries we cover, not of the world; NCD-RisC lists about 200 countries and several in Southeast Asia and Central America are shorter still.
Why do average heights differ between countries?: Mostly nutrition and health in childhood, especially the first two years, on top of genetics. Countries whose averages rose fastest in the 20th century did it through diet and healthcare, not a change in genes: South Korean women gained about 20 cm between the 1896 and 1996 birth cohorts in NCD-RisC's 2016 study. Height stops responding to those factors once growth ends, so a national average moves one generation at a time.

Source: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, eLife 2016, mean height at 18 of adults born in 1996. Percentiles on this page are our estimate from a normal distribution with the stated mean and SD.

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