List of countries by height

The German Ambassador Peter Schoof and East Timorese President Francisco Guterres with two German embassy staff and East Timorese officials. Only the Timorese on the left reaches the body length of the Germans. The East Timorese are, on average, the smallest in the world.

The following list sorts countries according to the median height of their inhabitants in 2014 in centimeters . All data refer to adults aged 20 years (year of birth 1994). All information is based on a study by Imperial College London . Countries are sorted according to the average of the male and female median values.

The world's tallest men lived in the Netherlands (182.5 cm) and the world's tallest women in Latvia (169.8 cm) , according to the study . In contrast, the world's smallest men lived in East Timor (159.8 cm) and the smallest women in Guatemala (149.4 cm). The countries with the 20 tallest men and women, with the exception of Australia , are all in Europe. Genetic requirements as well as factors such as diet play a role in the average height.

Median sizes

country	Median size in cm total (year of birth 1994)	Median height in cm men (year of birth 1994)	Median height in cm women (year of birth 1994)
Netherlands	175.6	182.5	168.7
Latvia	175.6	181.4	169.8
Estonia	175.2	181.6	168.7
Denmark	174.3	181.4	167.2
Czech Republic	174.3	180.1	168.5
Serbia	174.2	180.6	167.7
Belgium	173.6	181.7	165.5
Slovakia	173.5	179.5	167.5
Bosnia and Herzegovina	173.4	180.9	165.8
Iceland	173.2	180.5	165.9
Croatia	173.2	180.8	165.6
Slovenia	173.0	179.8	166.1
Germany	172.9	179.9	165.9
Lithuania	172.8	179.0	166.6
Finland	172.8	179.6	165.9
Sweden	172.7	179.7	165.7
Norway	172.7	179.7	165.6
Australia	172.6	179.2	165.9
Ukraine	172.4	178.5	166.3
Belarus	172.4	178.4	166.3
France	172.3	179.7	164.9
Ireland	172.0	178.9	165.1
Montenegro	171.6	178.3	164.9
Bulgaria	171.5	178.2	164.8
New Zealand	171.3	177.7	164.9
Italy	171.2	177.8	164.6
Luxembourg	171.2	177.9	164.4
Tonga	171.2	176.8	165.5
Greece	171.1	177.3	164.9
Austria	171.0	177.4	164.6
Canada	171.0	178.1	163.9
Switzerland	171.0	178.4	163.5
Poland	171.0	177.3	164.6
United Kingdom	171.0	177.5	164.4
Russia	170.9	176.5	165.3
Grenada	170.8	177.0	164.5
Barbados	170.6	175.9	165.3
Hungary	170.5	177.3	163.7
Dominica	170.3	176.3	164.3
United States	170.3	177.1	163.5
Spain	170.0	176.6	163.4
Israel	169.4	176.9	161.8
Moldova	169.4	175.5	163.2
North Macedonia	169.1	178.3	159.8
Jamaica	168.8	174.5	163.1
Romania	168.7	174.7	162.7
Georgia	168.7	174.3	163.0
Cyprus	168.7	175.0	162.3
South Korea	168.6	174.9	162.3
Lebanon	168.4	174.4	162.4
Greenland	168.2	174.9	161.5
Samoa	168.2	174.4	162.0
Seychelles	168.2	174.2	162.1
Taiwan	168.0	174.5	161.5
Portugal	168.0	172.9	163.0
Libya	167.8	173.5	162.1
Senegal	167.8	173.1	162.5
Uruguay	167.8	173.4	162.1
Fiji	167.8	173.9	161.7
Albania	167.6	173.4	161.8
Cape Verde	167.4	173.2	161.6
Turkey	167.4	174.2	160.5
Brazil	167.3	173.6	160.9
Tunisia	167.2	174.0	160.4
Trinidad and Tobago	167.2	173.7	160.6
Malta	167.1	173.3	160.9
St. Lucia	167.1	171.9	162.3
Turkmenistan	166.9	172.0	161.7
Argentina	166.9	174.6	159.2
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	166.8	172.8	160.7
Antigua and Barbuda	166.7	172.7	160.7
Bahamas	166.7	172.7	160.7
Suriname	166.7	172.7	160.7
Iran	166.7	173.6	159.7
Botswana	166.5	171.6	161.4
Singapore	166.5	172.6	160.3
Paraguay	166.4	172.8	159.9
Hong Kong	166.3	173.6	159.0
Dominican Republic	165.9	172.7	159.0
People's Republic of China	165.8	171.8	159.7
Mali	165.8	171.1	160.5
Kuwait	165.8	172.1	159.4
Puerto Rico	165.7	172.1	159.2
Haiti	165.7	172.6	158.7
Chile	165.6	171.8	159.4
North Korea	165.5	172.0	159.0
Palestine	165.5	172.1	158.8
Kazakhstan	165.4	171.1	159.6
Kyrgyzstan	165.3	171.2	159.4
Chad	165.3	170.4	160.2
Armenia	165.1	172.0	158.1
Cuba	165.0	172.0	158.0
Qatar	165.0	170.5	159.4
Jordan	164.9	171.0	158.8
Burkina Faso	164.8	169.3	160.2
United Arab Emirates	164.6	170.5	158.7
Algeria	164.6	170.1	159.1
Iraq	164.6	170.4	158.7
Japan	164.6	170.8	158.3
Syria	164.5	170.4	158.6
Venezuela	164.5	171.6	157.4
St. Kitts and Nevis	164.4	169.6	159.2
Tajikistan	164.3	171.3	157.3
Morocco	164.1	170.4	157.8
Guyana	164.1	170.2	157.9
Azerbaijan	164.0	169.7	158.3
Kenya	163.9	169.6	158.2
Mauritius	163.9	170.5	157.2
Tuvalu	163.9	169.6	158.1
Mongolia	163.7	169.1	158.2
Uzbekistan	163.6	169.4	157.8
Thailand	163.6	169.2	157.9
Zimbabwe	163.4	168.6	158.2
Ghana	163.4	168.8	157.9
Gabon	163.4	167.9	158.8
Swaziland	163.4	168.1	158.6
Togo	163.3	168.3	158.3
Oman	163.2	169.2	157.2
Colombia	163.2	169.5	156.9
Gambia	163.2	165.4	160.9
Vanuatu	163.2	168.1	158.2
Sao Tome and Principe	163.2	167.4	158.9
Kiribati	163.1	169.2	157.0
Guinea-Bissau	163.1	167.9	158.2
Niger	163.0	167.7	158.3
Namibia	162.9	167.0	158.8
Mexico	162.9	169.0	156.8
Costa Rica	162.7	168.9	156.4
Guinea	162.7	167.5	157.8
Republic of the Congo	162.5	167.4	157.6
Eritrea	162.4	168.4	156.4
Central African Republic	162.4	166.7	158.0
South Africa	162.4	166.7	158.0
Equatorial Guinea	162.4	167.4	157.3
Micronesia	162.3	168.5	156.1
Angola	162.3	167.3	157.3
Ivory Coast	162.3	166.5	158.1
El Salvador	162.2	169.8	154.5
Bahrain	162.2	167.7	156.7
Malaysia	162.1	167.9	156.3
Panama	162.0	168.5	155.5
Egypt	162.0	166.7	157.3
Palau	162.0	167.7	156.2
Saudi Arabia	161.8	167.7	155.9
Benin	161.7	167.1	156.2
Somalia	161.4	166.6	156.1
Djibouti	161.4	166.6	156.1
Sudan	161.3	166.6	156.0
Uganda	161.2	165.6	156.7
Zambia	161.2	166.5	155.8
Nigeria	161.1	165.9	156.3
Democratic Republic of Congo	161.0	166.8	155.2
Ethiopia	161.0	166.2	155.7
Comoros	160.9	166.2	155.6
Lesotho	160.7	165.6	155.7
Ecuador	160.7	167.1	154.2
Nicaragua	160.6	166.7	154.4
Sierra Leone	160.5	164.4	156.6
Mauritania	160.5	163.3	157.7
Pakistan	160.4	166.9	153.8
Bolivia	160.4	166.8	153.9
Tanzania	160.4	164.8	155.9
Burundi	160.3	166.6	154.0
Afghanistan	160.2	165.3	155.1
Sri Lanka	160.2	165.7	154.6
Honduras	160.1	166.4	153.8
Liberia	159.7	163.7	155.7
Myanmar	159.6	164.7	154.4
Brunei	159.5	165.0	154.0
Bhutan	159.5	165.3	153.6
Mozambique	159.4	164.8	154.0
Papua New Guinea	159.3	163.6	154.9
Solomon Islands	159.3	164.1	154.4
Peru	159.1	165.2	152.9
Vietnam	159.0	164.4	153.6
India	158.8	164.9	152.6
Rwanda	158.8	162.7	154.8
Malawi	158.3	162.2	154.4
Indonesia	158.2	163.6	152.8
Cambodia	158.1	163.3	152.9
Bangladesh	157.3	163.8	150.8
Marshall Islands	157.1	162.8	151.3
Yemen	157.0	159.9	154.0
Nepal	156.6	162.3	150.9
Philippines	156.4	163.2	149.6
Guatemala	156.4	163.4	149.4
Madagascar	156.4	161.5	151.2
Laos	155.9	160.5	151.3
East Timor	155.5	159.8	151.2

Increase in body size

The following lists show the 20 countries and territories with the largest increase in median height since 1914. Thanks to better nutrition and a rising standard of living, height has increased in almost all countries over the past 100 years.

Biggest increase in men

country	Median height 1914 in cm	Median size 2014 in cm	Increase in cm
Iran	157.1	173.6	+16.5
Greenland	159.5	174.9	+15.4
South Korea	159.8	174.9	+15.1
Greece	162.5	177.3	+14.8
Japan	156.2	170.8	+14.6
Belgium	167.2	181.7	+14.5
Spain	162.3	176.6	+14.3
Portugal	159.0	172.9	+13.9
Hong Kong	159.7	173.6	+13.9
Turkey	160.3	174.2	+13.9
Lebanon	160.7	174.4	+13.7
Poland	163.7	177.3	+13.6
Israel	163.4	176.9	+13.5
Oman	155.8	169.2	+13.4
France	166.4	179.7	+13.4
Taiwan	161.3	174.5	+13.2
Serbia	167.4	180.6	+13.2
Netherlands	169.4	182.5	+13.1
Italy	164.7	177.8	+13.1
Germany	167.2	179.9	+12.7

Biggest increase in women

country	Median height 1914 in cm	Median size 2014 in cm	Increase in cm
South Korea	142.2	162.3	+20.1
Japan	142.3	158.3	+16.0
Czech Republic	152.8	168.5	+15.7
Serbia	152.0	167.7	+15.7
Croatia	150.1	165.6	+15.5
Greenland	147.0	161.5	+14.5
Greece	150.6	164.9	+14.3
Latvia	155.5	169.8	+14.3
Poland	150.5	164.6	+14.1
Netherlands	154.8	168.7	+13.9
Costa Rica	142.7	156.4	+13.7
Slovenia	152.5	166.1	+13.6
Mexico	143.5	156.8	+13.3
El Salvador	141.2	154.5	+13.3
Singapore	147.1	160.3	+13.2
Barbados	152.1	165.3	+13.2
Hong Kong	146.0	159.0	+13.0
Colombia	144.0	156.9	+12.9
Lebanon	149.6	162.4	+12.8
Venezuela	144.7	157.4	+12.7

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dutch men are the tallest on the planet, a new study has discovered . In: Mail Online . ( dailymail.co.uk [accessed January 17, 2018]).
2. ↑ ^{a b} World Map - Height> Height> Data Visualizations> NCD-RisC. Retrieved January 14, 2018 .