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Ranked: The countries with the tallest people in the world

Ranked: The countries with the tallest people in the world

Bill Bostock,Jenny McGrath

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)

The mean height for men from Greece: 5 feet 10.59 inches (179.3 cm)

The mean height for women from Greece: 5 feet 5.28 inches (165.8 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Austria: 5 feet 10.28 inches (178.5 cm)

The mean height for women from Austria: 5 feet 5.71 inches (166.9 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Belarus: 5 feet 10.35 inches (178.7 cm)

The mean height for women from Belarus: 5 feet 5.71 inches (166.9 cm)

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

The mean height for men from the Cook Islands: 5 feet 10.19 inches (178.3 cm)

The mean height for women from the Cook Islands: 5 feet 5.87 inches (167.3 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Bermuda: 5 feet 10.75 inches (179.7 cm)

The mean height for women from Bermuda: 5 feet 5.39 inches (166.1 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Poland: 5 feet 11.14 inches (180.7 cm)

The mean height for women from Poland: 5 feet 5.28 inches (165.8 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Germany: 5 feet 10.98 inches (180.3 cm)

The mean height for women from Germany: 5 feet 5.43 inches (166.2 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Norway: 5 feet 11.06 inches (180.5 cm)

The mean height for women from Norway: 5 feet 5.51 inches (166.4 cm)

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

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

The mean height for men from Finland: 5 feet 11.1 inches (180.6 cm)

The mean height for women from Finland: 5 feet 5.55 inches (166.5 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Dominica: 5 feet 10.94 inches (180.2 cm)

The mean height for women from Dominica: 5 feet 5.71 inches (166.9 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Sweden: 5 feet 11.06 inches (180.5 cm)

The mean height for women from Sweden: 5 feet 5.63 inches (166.7 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Ukraine: 5 feet 11.26 inches (181 cm)

The mean height for women from Ukraine: 5 feet 5.59 inches (166.6 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Croatia: 5 feet 11.18 inches (180.8 cm)

The mean height for women from Croatia: 5 feet 5.67 inches (166.8 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Slovakia: 5 feet 11.26 inches (181 cm)

The mean height for women from Slovakia: 5 feet 5.79 inches (167.1 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Slovenia: 5 feet 11.26 inches (181 cm)

The mean height for women from Slovenia: 5 feet 5.83 inches (167.2 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Lithuania: 5 feet 11.14 inches (180.7 cm)

The mean height for women from Lithuania: 5 feet 5.98 inches (167.6 cm)

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

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

The mean height for men from Serbia: 5 feet 11.14 inches (180.7 cm)

The mean height for women from Serbia: 5 feet 6.26 inches (168.3 cm)

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

The mean height for men from the Czech Republic: 5 feet 11.34 inches (181.2 cm)

The mean height for women from the Czech Republic: 5 feet 6.14 inches (168 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Bosnia & Herzegovina: 5 feet 11.85 inches (182.5 cm)

The mean height for women from Bosnia & Herzegovina: 5 feet 5.94 inches (167.5 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Latvia: 5 feet 11.34 inches (181.2 cm)

The mean height for women from Latvia: 5 feet 6.46 inches (168.8 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Iceland: 5 feet 11.69 inches (182.1 cm)

The mean height for women from Iceland: 5 feet 6.5 inches (168.9 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Denmark: 5 feet 11.61 inches (181.9 cm)

The mean height for women from Denmark: 5 feet 6.73 inches (169.5 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Estonia: 5 feet 11.97 inches (182.8 cm)

The mean height for women from Estonia: 5 feet 6.42 inches (168.7 cm)

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

The mean height for men from Montenegro: 6 feet 0.17 inches (183.3 cm)

The mean height for women from Montenegro: 5 feet 6.93 inches (170 cm)

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

The mean height for men from the Netherlands: 6 feet 0.36 inches (183.8 cm)

The mean height for women from the Netherlands: 5 feet 7.09 inches (170.4 cm)

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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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