Height by Country
See how your height compares with the average adult in 32 countries.
Averages are rounded NCD-RisC estimates for young adults (18 to 25) as summarized by WorldData. The percentile assumes a typical spread of about 7 cm around each national average.
How tall is the average person in each country?
Average adult height varies by about 20 cm across the world. Young Dutch men average around 184 cm (just over 6 feet), while men in the Philippines and Indonesia average about 165 to 166 cm. For women, the gap runs from roughly 170 cm in the Netherlands and Montenegro to about 154 cm in parts of Southeast Asia.
Our tool uses rounded estimates from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, a network of health scientists that pools measurement studies from almost every country. The figures describe people aged 18 to 25, so they reflect the newest adult generation rather than the population as a whole. Older adults in most countries are a little shorter on average.
Average height by country: quick table
| Country | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 184 cm (6’0″) | 170 cm (5’7″) |
| Denmark | 182 cm (6’0″) | 169 cm (5’6″) |
| Germany | 180 cm (5’11”) | 166 cm (5’5″) |
| United Kingdom | 178 cm (5’10”) | 164 cm (5’5″) |
| United States | 177 cm (5’10”) | 163 cm (5’4″) |
| South Korea | 175 cm (5’9″) | 163 cm (5’4″) |
| Japan | 172 cm (5’8″) | 158 cm (5’2″) |
| India | 166 cm (5’5″) | 155 cm (5’1″) |
Why are some countries taller than others?
- Childhood nutrition: protein, dairy and overall calories in the first 20 years matter most
- Health care and fewer childhood infections, which leave more energy for growth
- Income and living standards, which tend to rise together with average height
- Genetics, which set the range a population can reach
South Korea is a striking example. Korean women born in the 1990s are about 20 cm taller than Korean women born a century earlier, one of the largest gains ever recorded. The Netherlands climbed from fairly average to the top of the chart over the same period.
How to read your result
The percentile tells you what share of people your age and sex in the chosen country are likely shorter than you. A result of 75 means you would be taller than about three out of four people there. Because national data is an average, the percentile is an estimate, but it’s a good way to see why a 178 cm man feels tall in Tokyo and average in Amsterdam.
Want to see what height a child may reach? Try the adult height predictor.