HeightPredictorAverage height · CDC, WHO and NCD-RisC data
Average height for men and women
The average height for men in the United States is 5'9" (175 cm) and the average height for women is 5'4" (161 cm), measured by the CDC in 2021–2023. Worldwide, young men average about 5'7" (171 cm) and young women about 5'3" (159 cm). Below: average height by age from 2 to 19, and average height by country.
Average height in the US and worldwide
Average male height in the US is 68.9 inches and average female height is 63.5 inches, for adults age 20 and over. The world figures come from NCD-RisC, which measures 18-year-olds, so they run slightly taller than a whole-population average.
| Group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| United States, adults 20+ (CDC 2021–2023) | 5'8.9" · 175 cm | 5'3.5" · 161 cm |
| World, age 18 (NCD-RisC, born 1996) | 5'7.4" · 171.3 cm | 5'2.8" · 159.5 cm |
Sources: CDC/NCHS, Anthropometric Reference Data for Children and Adults: United States, August 2021–August 2023 (Series 3, No. 50), Table 8; NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2016), A century of trends in adult human height, eLife, via Our World in Data.
Height chart by age, 2 to 19
This is average height by age: the median for boys and girls at each birthday, the same reference line the quiz uses to place you. Normal height for age is a band, not a line; roughly the 5th to the 95th percentile around each median.
An average height teenager grows fastest around 12 to 13 for girls and 13 to 14 for boys, then the two lines separate for good.
| Age | Boys (median) | Girls (median) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2'10.3" · 87 cm | 2'9.7" · 86 cm |
| 3 | 3'1.8" · 96 cm | 3'1.4" · 95 cm |
| 4 | 3'4.7" · 103 cm | 3'4.4" · 103 cm |
| 5 | 3'7.3" · 110 cm | 3'7.1" · 109 cm |
| 6 | 3'9.7" · 116 cm | 3'9.3" · 115 cm |
| 7 | 3'11.9" · 122 cm | 3'11.6" · 121 cm |
| 8 | 4'2.1" · 127 cm | 4'1.8" · 127 cm |
| 9 | 4'4.2" · 133 cm | 4'4.2" · 133 cm |
| 10 | 4'6.3" · 138 cm | 4'6.6" · 139 cm |
| 11 | 4'8.3" · 143 cm | 4'9.1" · 145 cm |
| 12 | 4'10.7" · 149 cm | 4'11.5" · 151 cm |
| 13 | 5'1.4" · 156 cm | 5'1.6" · 156 cm |
| 14 | 5'4.3" · 163 cm | 5'2.9" · 160 cm |
| 15 | 5'6.5" · 169 cm | 5'3.7" · 162 cm |
| 16 | 5'7.7" · 172 cm | 5'4" · 163 cm |
| 17 | 5'8.3" · 173 cm | 5'4.1" · 163 cm |
| 18 | 5'8.7" · 175 cm | 5'4.2" · 163 cm |
| 19 | 5'9.3" · 176 cm | 5'4.3" · 163 cm |
Source: WHO Child Growth Standards (2006) for ages 2–5 and WHO Growth Reference (2007) for ages 5–19, height-for-age medians.
Average height by country
Mean height of 18-year-olds by country. The tallest countries are in northern and central Europe: the Netherlands lead for men and Latvia for women. Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines sit near the bottom of this list, though all three have been gaining height for decades.
Tallest countries
Men: Netherlands (182.5 cm), Belgium (181.7), Estonia (181.6), Latvia (181.4), Denmark (181.4).
Women: Latvia (169.8 cm), Netherlands (168.7), Estonia (168.7), Czechia (168.5), Serbia (167.7).
| Country | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 5'11.9" · 182.5 cm | 5'6.4" · 168.7 cm |
| Denmark | 5'11.4" · 181.4 cm | 5'5.8" · 167.2 cm |
| Germany | 5'10.8" · 179.9 cm | 5'5.3" · 165.9 cm |
| Australia | 5'10.6" · 179.2 cm | 5'5.3" · 165.9 cm |
| Canada | 5'10.1" · 178.1 cm | 5'4.5" · 163.9 cm |
| United Kingdom | 5'9.9" · 177.5 cm | 5'4.7" · 164.4 cm |
| United States | 5'9.7" · 177.1 cm | 5'4.4" · 163.5 cm |
| South Korea | 5'8.9" · 174.9 cm | 5'3.9" · 162.3 cm |
| Turkey | 5'8.6" · 174.2 cm | 5'3.2" · 160.5 cm |
| Brazil | 5'8.3" · 173.6 cm | 5'3.3" · 160.9 cm |
| China | 5'7.6" · 171.8 cm | 5'2.9" · 159.7 cm |
| Japan | 5'7.2" · 170.8 cm | 5'2.3" · 158.3 cm |
| Mexico | 5'6.5" · 169.0 cm | 5'1.7" · 156.8 cm |
| Egypt | 5'5.6" · 166.7 cm | 5'1.9" · 157.3 cm |
| Nigeria | 5'5.3" · 165.9 cm | 5'1.5" · 156.3 cm |
| India | 5'4.9" · 164.9 cm | 5'0.1" · 152.6 cm |
| Vietnam | 5'4.7" · 164.4 cm | 5'0.5" · 153.6 cm |
| Indonesia | 5'4.4" · 163.6 cm | 5'0.2" · 152.8 cm |
| Guatemala | 5'4.3" · 163.4 cm | 4'10.8" · 149.4 cm |
| Philippines | 5'4.3" · 163.2 cm | 4'10.9" · 149.6 cm |
| World | 5'7.4" · 171.3 cm | 5'2.8" · 159.5 cm |
Source: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2016), mean height at age 18 of people born in 1996, via Our World in Data. Country rows are the same cohort measure, so they are comparable with each other but sit slightly above whole-adult-population figures like the CDC's.
Normal height for age: what counts as short or tall
For US adults, 5 percent of men are under 5'4" and 5 percent are over 6'1.7"; for women the 5th and 95th percentiles are 4'10.9" and 5'7.9". Between those lines is "normal" in the statistical sense. For children the same band is drawn around each age on the growth chart.
If you are asking because you are 13 to 19 and not sure where you sit, the quiz gives your percentile for your exact age and, more usefully, how much growth is still open.
People also ask
What is the average height for a man in the US?
5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) for adults age 20 and over, measured by the CDC in 2021–2023. Men in their 20s and 30s average slightly more, around 5'9.4", because older generations were shorter.
What is the average height for a woman in the US?
5 feet 3.5 inches (161 cm) for adults age 20 and over, per the same CDC survey. Women in their 20s average about 5'4.4".
What is the average height for a 13, 14 or 15 year old?
Median height is about 5'1" (156 cm) for boys and 5'2" (156 cm) for girls at 13; 5'4" (163 cm) and 5'3" (160 cm) at 14; 5'6.5" (169 cm) and 5'3.7" (162 cm) at 15. Girls are briefly taller around 12 to 13, then boys pull ahead.
What is the average height for a 16, 17 or 18 year old?
Boys: about 5'7.7" (172 cm) at 16, 5'8.3" (173 cm) at 17 and 5'8.7" (175 cm) at 18. Girls: about 5'4" (163 cm) at all three ages, since most girls have finished growing by 16.
Which country has the tallest people?
The Netherlands for men (182.5 cm at age 18) and Latvia for women (169.8 cm), with Estonia, Denmark and Belgium close behind. The shortest averages are in parts of South and Southeast Asia and Central America, around 160 to 164 cm for men.
Is 5'9" average for a man?
Yes, in the United States 5'9" is the median for adult men. In the Netherlands it would be short of average; in Japan or India it would be above.