Short answer: in the United States, a man who is 5′9″ counts as average height, and a woman as very tall.
Average height
Men · 50% are shorter
Very tall
Women · 98% are shorter
175.3 cm (5′9″)
69 in
50% of adult men in the United States are shorter than this; 1 in 2 men is this tall or taller. The average man is 175.4 cm (5′9″).
98% of adult women in the United States are shorter than this; 1 in 49.5 women is this tall or taller. The average woman is 161.6 cm (5′4″).
| Group | Average | Difference | Shorter in country | Shorter worldwide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 175.4 cm (5′9″) | −0.1 cm | 50% | 77% |
| Women | 161.6 cm (5′4″) | +13.7 cm | 98% | 99.1% |
Calculate your rank as a man → Calculate your rank as a woman →
Values are cohort-weighted averages for adults aged 18+, derived from NCD-RisC 2020 and UN population estimates; they do not reflect regional differences within a country. Details: methodology and sources.
What share of adults of the same sex is shorter than this?
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 21% | 86% |
| Brazil | 65% | 99% |
| Nigeria | 75% | 99.7% |
| China | 76% | 99.2% |
| Pakistan | 89% | 99.9% |
| India | 94% | 99.9% |
| Indonesia | 95% | 99.9% |
| Timor-Leste | 99% | 99.9% |
5′6″ 5′7″ 5′8″ 5′10″ 5′11″ 6′0″ 175 cm