Average Height For Men In U.S. And Worldwide, How To Measure

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HealthlineSubscribeNutritionAverage Heights of Males Around the World

Medically reviewed by Mia Armstrong, MD — Written by Ashley Marcin — Updated on May 14, 2025

United States
International heights
Factors influencing height
FAQ
Takeaway

The average height for U.S. males is around 69 inches (5 feet 9 inches), but this average varies between countries. Socioeconomic, nutritional, and biological factors may affect a person’s height.

Anthropometry is the study of the human body’s composition, which includes measurements of height, weight, and shape. This data may help indicate your general health status, nutrition and dietary adequacy, and growth.

Height and other anthropometric data are published in national growth charts and have several uses across disciplines. That said, population samples may not always accurately represent all races and ethnicities.

These measurements could be used to:

assess the socioeconomic, environmental, and nutritional status of a specific demographic
evaluate for diseases and health conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, and cancer
formulate averages and trends in human growth
create more ergonomic spaces, furniture, and assistive devices

Keep reading to learn more about the average male heights around the world.

United States

From 2015 to 2018, the average height for males in the United States ages 20 years and over was 69 inches.

Age (years)	Height (inches)
20 to 29	69.2
30 to 39	69.4
40 to 49	69.4
50 to 59	69.0
60 to 69	68.7
70 to 79	68.1
80 and over	67.1

There were slight changes in the average adult male height from 2000 to 2015. However, these weren’t as significant as the weight, waist circumference, and BMI increase among the same adult population.

International

The range of average male heights across the world is quite broad.

The table below shows the average male heights in 2019 for 15 countries.

Country	Average height (inches)
The Netherlands	72.4
Germany	70.98
Australia	70.4
Canada	70.35
United Kingdom	70.16
Jamaica	69.69
Brazil	69.17
Iran	69.13
China	69.17
Japan	69.76
Mexico	67.04
Nigeria	67.56
Peru	65.67
India	65.55
Philippines	65.04

This data was compiled by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, a global group of researchers and health scientists that provide data for noncommunicable diseases in more than 200 countries.

Data from 1896 to 1996 suggests the global average height for males increased from 63.78 to 67.32 inches.

During this century, Iranian males may have seen the biggest change in height, gaining nearly 6.5 inches.

From shortest to tallest

The shortest male was Chandra Bahadur Dangi from Rhimkholi, Nepal. In 2012, he was 21.5 inches tall.

The tallest male was Robert Pershing Wadlow from Alton, Illinois. He stood at 107.1 inches tall.

Factors that influence height

Several biological, nutritional, and socioeconomic factors may affect your height.

Genetics

It’s estimated that 80% of your height could be determined by genetics. If your family is tall, chances are, you might be tall, too.

The other 20% may be due to nutritional and environmental factors.

Nutrition

Malnutrition or limited access to nutrient-dense whole foods at a young age may impact height.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2022, 149 million children under the age of 5 years were too short for their age, while 45 million were too thin for their height.

Not getting enough of certain minerals may impact growth, including:

zinc
selenium
iodine
manganese
copper

Chronic malnutrition may be associated with less favorable socioeconomic conditions, illness and disease, or certain maternal health conditions.

Environment

Environmental factors may affect your height, including:

a pregnant person’s nutrition and lifestyle habits during pregnancy, such as smoking
sleep quality as a child and teen
where you live, such as in an urban area
your posture
a child’s exposure to second-hand smoke

Medical conditions

Certain medical conditions may also affect your height, such as gigantism or dwarfism.

Gigantism refers to an extremely tall stature. It may be caused by:

acromegaly
Carney complex
McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS)
multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN-1)

In contrast, dwarfism refers to an extremely short stature. Conditions that may lead to short stature include:

achondroplasia
neurofibromatosis
growth hormone deficiency
Turner syndrome (Monosomy X)
hypothyroidism
intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR)

You’ll notice the language used to share stats and other data points is pretty binary, fluctuating between the use of “male” and “female” or “men” and “women.” While we typically avoid language like this, specificity is key when reporting on research participants and clinical findings.

Frequently asked questions

Is 5'7" average height for a man?

If you’re looking at global statistics, the answer is yes. The average height for a man worldwide is 5 feet 7.5 inches.The average height for a man in the United States is 5 feet 9 inches.

If you’re looking at global statistics, the answer is yes. The average height for a man worldwide is 5 feet 7.5 inches.

The average height for a man in the United States is 5 feet 9 inches.

How tall is the average male in the U.S.?

Data from 2015 to 2018 reports that the average male height in the United States ages 20 years and over was 69 inches (5 feet 7 inches) tall.

What is the average height of males in the world?

The global average height in 2014 for males born in 1996 was 67.45 inches.In 2019, the country with the shortest average male height was Timor-Leste, at 63.01 inches. The tallest average male height was 72.36 inches in the Netherlands.

The global average height in 2014 for males born in 1996 was 67.45 inches.

In 2019, the country with the shortest average male height was Timor-Leste, at 63.01 inches. The tallest average male height was 72.36 inches in the Netherlands.

Is 5'8" short for a man?

No. 5’8″ is actually slightly taller than the global average for men.

The bottom line

While there may be trends and overall averages regarding height worldwide, it’s important to remember that humans come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Countless factors may affect your height, including age, genetics, socioeconomic status, and nutrition. Averages may help statisticians observe health and growth trends, but they should not serve as a measure of self-worth.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

A century of trends in adult human height. (2016).https://elifesciences.org/articles/13410
Balasundaram P, et al. (2023). Human growth and development.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK567767/
Bello MO, et al. (2023). Gigantism and acromegaly.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538261/
Candela-Martínez B, et al. (2022). Growing taller unequally? Adult height in socioeconomic status in Spain (cohorts 1940-1994).https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9163098/
Fryar CD, et al. (2018). Mean body weight, height, waist circumference, and body mass index among adults: United States, 1999 to 2000 through 2015 to 2016.https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr122-508.pdf
Fryar CD, et al. (2021). Anthropometric reference data for children and adults: United States, 2015 to 2018. National Center for Health Statistics.https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_03/sr03-046-508.pdf
Height. (2019).https://ncdrisc.org/data-visualisations-height.html
Is height determined by genetics? (2022).https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/traits/height/
Jain M, et al. (2023). Dwarfism.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK563282/
Kuriyan R, et al. (2018). Body composition techniques.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6366261/
Malnutrition. (2024).https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malnutrition
Nadhiroh SR, et al. (2020). The association between secondhand smoke exposure and growth outcomes of children: A systematic literature review.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7067234/#sec4
Roser M, et al. (2024). Human height.https://ourworldindata.org/human-height
Swatman R. (2015). Remembering Chandra Dangi - the world’s shortest man ever.https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2015/9/remembering-chandra-dangi-the-worlds-shortest-man-ever-396354
Tallest man ever. (n.d.).https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/tallest-man-ever

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Medically reviewed by Mia Armstrong, MD — Written by Ashley Marcin — Updated on May 14, 2025

Tag » What Is Short For A Man

Average Height For Men In U.S. And Worldwide, How To Measure

United States

International

From shortest to tallest

Factors that influence height

Genetics

Nutrition

Environment

Medical conditions

Frequently asked questions

Is 5'7" average height for a man?

How tall is the average male in the U.S.?

What is the average height of males in the world?

Is 5'8" short for a man?

The bottom line

How we reviewed this article:

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