Ranked: The countries with the tallest people in the world

Bill Bostock,Jenny McGrathJan 13, 2024, 08:03 IST

Some of the world's tallest men: Russian Sergey Ilin, American Dave Rasmussen, and Robert Steven, who are all over 7 feet tall, wait at a pedestrian crossing in Paris.Julien/AFP via Getty Images

Height varies a lot around the world — and some countries have a definite lead.
Using medical data, Insider calculated the mean height for the 25 tallest countries.

At nearly 8 feet 3 inches tall, Sultan Kösen, who hails from Turkey, may be the tallest person on the planet.

Despite his commanding size, his country doesn't make the list of those with the tallest people.

Insider used mean height data from the medical database NCD Risk Factor Collaboration to find the countries with the tallest people. The project collected information on metrics like height, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels from over 2,500 population surveys from 193 countries.

The NCD lists separate heights for 19-year-old males and females in each country. We took an average of these two figures to give a rough idea of how tall the typical person is in the country and also broke down the list by sex.

It's also important to note that the dataset is only through 2019, and it may not include complete or fully representative information for every country.

Notably, the United States didn't make the ranking either, coming in 58th for women and 47th for men at 5 feet 4.29 inches (163.3 cm) and 5 feet 9.65 inches (176.9 cm), respectively.

These are the 25 countries that (literally) came out on top.

25. Greece — 5 feet 7.93 inches (172.55 cm)

Actor John Aniston, late father of Jennifer Aniston, was born on the Greek island of Crete.Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

24. Austria — 5 feet 7.99 inches (172.7 cm)

Austrian-born Arnold Schwarzenegger, who’s about 6 feet 2 inches tall, was cast alongside the much shorter Danny DeVito in the 1980s movie “Twins.”CHRISTIAN CHARISIUS/Getty Images

22. Belarus — 5 feet 8.03 inches (172.8 cm)

At 6 feet, Belarusian tennis player Victoria Azarenka used her height to her advantage on the court.THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images

22. Cook Islands — 5 feet 8.03 inches (172.8 cm)

Located in the South Pacific, the Cook Islands aren’t far from French Polynesia.iStock via Getty Images Plus

21. Bermuda — 5 feet 8.07 inches (172.9 cm)

Born in Bermuda, actor and dancer Daren Herbert has appeared in many Canadian and US TV shows and movies.Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images

19. Poland — 5 feet 8.21 inches (173.25 cm)

Singer Blanka, center, represented Poland in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

19. Germany — 5 feet 8.21 inches (173.25 cm)

Former German chancellor Angela Merkel is just about the typical height of her fellow countrywomen. Omer Messinger-Pool/Getty Images

18. Norway — 5 feet 8.29 inches (173.45 cm)

Depending on how he styles his hair, Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen can add a bit to his height.Jon Gambrell/AP Images

17. Finland — 5 feet 8.31 inches (173.55 cm)

A man holds up a Finnish flag.Vesa Moilanen/Lehtikuva/Reuters

16. Dominica — 5 feet 8.33 inches (173.55 cm)

"Death in Paradise" actor Danny John-Jules, pictured with Petula Langlais, was born in London and is of Dominican descent.Dave Benett/Getty Images

15. Sweden — 5 feet 8.35 inches (173.6 cm)

Swede and soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimović is 6 feet 5 inches tall.Shaun Clark/Getty Images

13. Ukraine — 5 feet 8.43 inches (173.8 cm)

“Dancing with the Stars” alum Maksim Chmerkovskiy, pictured with Peta Murgatroyd, emigrated to the US from Ukraine as a teenager.Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

13. Croatia — 5 feet 8.43 inches (173.8 cm)

Slavica Ecclestone, pictured with her former husband Bernie Ecclestone, is toweringly tall.Crispin Thruston/Action Images via Reuters

12. Slovakia — 5 feet 8.52 inches (174.05 cm)

Slovakian downhill alpine skier Petra Vlhová is nearly 6 feet tall.AP Photo/Sergio Bisi

11. Slovenia — 5 feet 8.54 inches (174.1 cm)

Slovenia's president, Nataša Pirc Musar, and Kosovo's president, Vjosa Osmani, pose together.REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski

10. Lithuania — 5 feet 8.56 inches (174.15 cm)

An Olympic gold medal winner, Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte has broken several swimming records.REUTERS/Issei Kato

9. Serbia — 5 feet 8.7 inches (174.5 cm)

Serbian leader Aleksandar Vučić is well over 6 feet tall.REUTERS/Marko Djurica

8. Czech Republic— 5 feet 8.74 inches (174.6 cm)

Born in Prague in what is now the Czech Republic, Madeleine Albright, seen here on the show “Madam Secretary” with Téa Leoni, was the first woman to serve as the US secretary of state.Sarah Shatz/CBS

6. Bosnia and Herzegovina — 5 feet 8.9 inches (175 cm)

Athletes from Bosnia and Herzegovina make their entrance at the 2022 Winter Olympics.AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

6. Latvia — 5 feet 8.9 inches (175 cm)

Athletes from Latvia make their entrance at the 2020 Summer Olympics.Hannah McKay/Pool Photo via AP

5. Iceland — 5 feet 9.09 inches (175.5 cm)

"Game of Thrones" actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, pictured with fitness expert Natalie Eva Marie, was born in Reykjavík, Iceland and is a few inches shy of 7 feet tall.Brian Ach/Getty Images for REIGN Total Body Fuel

4. Denmark — 5 feet 9.17 inches (175.7 cm)

Trained as a gymnast, actor Mads Mikkelsen started acting in his native country Denmark.Joel C. Ryan/Invision/AP

Estonia — 5 feet 9.19 inches (175.75 cm)

Miss Estonia, Jana Tafenau, performs on stage at the 2002 Miss Universe pageant.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images

2. Montenegro — 5 feet 9.55 inches (176.65 cm)

Members of Montenegro`s soccer team during the Euro 2016 qualifying soccer match.REUTERS/Stevo Vasiljevic

1. The Netherlands — 5 feet 9.72 inches (177.1 cm)

The Netherlands' King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima are about average height for the country.Reuters

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A note on mean versus average heights: Using the mean heights instead of average gives a sense of which countries have the most people who are tall. In Iceland, for example, you'll find many men who are 5 feet 11 inches.

The list would look a little different if we had ranked by average heights. The Federal Statistical Office of Germany calculates heights by average, for example, and the results would bump the country up in the rankings by several spots.

This post has been updated. It was originally published in 2019.

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