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Average height in Iran

Men in Iran average 173.6 cm (5 ft 8 in), women 159.7 cm (5 ft 3 in). That puts Iran 61st of 186 countries in our data.

Key numbers

Men
173.6 cm
5 ft 8 in
Women
159.7 cm
5 ft 3 in
SD, men / women
8.0 / 7.5
cm, global SD
vs global mean
+2.6 cm
women +0.7 cm
Rank, men
61 of 186
women 79 of 186
Men minus women
13.9 cm
global 12.0 cm

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Iran among its neighbours

Ranking neighbours (three above and below) plus every Asia country in our data
#CountryMen (cm)Women (cm)Region
39Israel176.9161.8Asia
46South Korea174.9162.3Asia
50Taiwan174.5161.5Asia
51Lebanon174.4162.4Asia
53Georgia174.3163.0Asia
58Trinidad and Tobago173.7160.6Americas
59Brazil173.6160.9Americas
60Hong Kong173.6159.0Asia
61Iran173.6159.7Asia
62Libya173.5162.1Africa
63Albania173.4161.8Europe
64Uruguay173.4162.1Americas
75Singapore172.6160.3Asia
76Kuwait172.1159.4Asia
78Palestine172.1158.8Asia
79Armenia172.0158.1Asia
81North Korea172.0159.0Asia
82Turkmenistan172.0161.7Asia
85China171.8159.7Asia
88Tajikistan171.3157.3Asia
89Kyrgyzstan171.2159.4Asia
90Kazakhstan171.1159.6Asia
92Jordan171.0158.8Asia
93Japan170.8158.3Asia
94United Arab Emirates170.5158.7Asia
96Qatar170.5159.4Asia
97Iraq170.4158.7Asia
99Syria170.4158.6Asia
104Azerbaijan169.7158.3Asia
107Uzbekistan169.4157.8Asia
110Oman169.2157.2Asia
111Thailand169.2157.9Asia
112Mongolia169.1158.2Asia
126Malaysia167.9156.3Asia
128Bahrain167.7156.7Asia
129Maldives167.7155.0Asia
131Saudi Arabia167.7155.9Asia
140Pakistan166.9153.8Asia
157Sri Lanka165.7154.6Asia
161Afghanistan165.3155.1Asia
162Bhutan165.3153.6Asia
164Brunei165.0154.0Asia
165India164.9152.6Asia
168Myanmar164.7154.4Asia
170Vietnam164.4153.6Asia
172Bangladesh163.8150.8Asia
174Indonesia163.6152.8Asia
177Cambodia163.3152.9Asia
179Philippines163.2149.6Asia
181Nepal162.3150.9Asia
184Laos160.5151.3Asia
185Yemen159.9154.0Asia
186Timor-Leste159.8151.2Asia

What counts as tall in Iran

Share of adults shorter than each height, estimated from mean and SD
Heightft inShorter menShorter women
160 cm5 ft 3 in4%52%
165 cm5 ft 5 in14%76%
170 cm5 ft 7 in33%92%
175 cm5 ft 9 in57%98%
180 cm5 ft 11 in79%>99%
185 cm6 ft 1 in92%>99%
190 cm6 ft 3 in98%>99%
195 cm6 ft 5 in>99%>99%
200 cm6 ft 7 in>99%>99%

Read it as: a man of 185 cm in Iran is taller than 92% of men. Values under 1% or over 99% are shown as <1 and >99.

In plain language

The standard deviation for men in Iran is 8.0 cm. In practice that means about two thirds of men stand between 165.6 and 181.6 cm, and roughly 95% between 157.6 and 189.6 cm. A man of 182 cm is taller than about 84% of men here; one of 190 cm is taller than about 98%.

Men in Iran are on average 13.9 cm taller than women. Compared with the global mean, men here are 2.6 cm taller and women 0.7 cm taller. These are means for people born in 1996, measured at 18. Older generations in most countries are shorter, by several centimetres where heights rose fast.

Questions

Is 180 cm tall in Iran?
A man of 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) is taller than about 79% of men in Iran. That counts as tall here, though not rare. For a woman, 180 cm is taller than >99% of women in Iran.
What is the average height of women in Iran?
Women in Iran average 159.7 cm (5 ft 3 in), with a standard deviation of 7.5 cm. About two thirds of women are between 152.2 and 167.2 cm. That ranks 79th of 186 countries for women.
How does Iran compare to Hong Kong?
Men in Hong Kong average 173.6 cm, 0.0 cm more than men in Iran. Women average 159.0 cm against 159.7 cm. Hong Kong ranks 60th, Iran 61st.
How does Iran compare to the world average?
The global mean is 171.0 cm for men and 159.0 cm for women. Men in Iran are 2.6 cm taller than that, women 0.7 cm taller.

NCD-RisC does not publish standard deviations. SD for countries added in 2026-10 uses the global SD. Iran is one of them, so the SD and the percentiles above use the global spread rather than one measured here.

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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