What Height is Considered Short? (For Men and Women) (2024)

What Height is Considered Short? (For Men and Women) (1)

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Whether they want to look like a Marvel hero or a supermodel, both men and women often wish to be taller due to societal pressure, or pure preference.

What height is considered short comes down to many factors since there’s no perfect or objective way to establish a short height threshold. However, there are a few ways to quantify “short,” – such as physical geography and statistical averages which helps roughly estimate whether peers see you as short.

What’s Considered Short for Men Worldwide?

What’s viewed as short in one region may be tall in another, so it’s not always black and white.

For instance, the US average height is 168.3 cm (5’6), so if an American visited India, where the average height is 158.5 cm (5’2), they would be considered well above average stature.

This doesn’t even take into account an individuals personal perceptions of others – for example, someone who has a tall social circle will see anyone under 6 feet tall as short.

Technically speaking, if one is 1 standard deviation shorter than the world average, then they could be considered “short”, but this is by far the best way to approach the question of “what’s considered short?”.

Average Height of Men Worldwide

The worldwide average height for men is 5 feet 7.5 inches. So are men below this threshold considered short, then?

It depends on where one is in the world – in the Philippines, the average male height is only 5 feet 3 inches, while it’s 6 feet in the Netherlands! A 5’7″ man may be very tall in the Philippines, but women from the Netherlands consider him relatively short.

The average height for men in the US is 5’9″, but it’s not uncommon to see women express a desire for a man no shorter than 6 feet. A study in the UK also found that women consider 5’11” to be the ideal height, the average male height in the UK being 5’10”.

Am I Short as a Man?

Being below the norm doesn’t mean a person is necessarily short. Since the “ideal” height runs quite close to the average in the western world, though, it would be fair to say a man below 5’4″ is generally seen as short in the west.

Another way to determine who’s considered short is standard deviation – in the US, statisticians distribute men’s height with a standard deviation of 3 inches. When considering standard deviation, 5’6″ and below would be considered relatively short for men in the western world.

What Height is Tall for Men?

Being above the average US height of 5’9″ isn’t enough to be objectively tall. Since British women prefer men at 5’11”, that’s considered sufficiently tall for men in that region. Statistically, a height of 6 feet is one standard deviation above the average US male height, so men 6 feet and above are undoubtedly tall.

Men above 6’3″ are seen as very tall – they may even be too tall for many women since they would be about a foot taller than the average woman.

What’s Considered Short for Women Worldwide?

Most men prefer to date women shorter than them, giving women much more leeway with height. The UK study, which found the ideal height for men to be 5’11”, also found that the perfect height for women is 5’6″. Are women below 5’6″ considered short in the west, then?

95% of women are between 5 feet and 5’11”, which means women below 5 feet are rare and considered relatively short in the western world. However, this limit isn’t necessarily a universal standard – while some men believe there’s no such thing as too short for a woman. Statistically, it depends on her race and nationality.

Average Height for Women

The average US woman is 5 feet 4 inches, and the average woman in the Netherlands is 5’5.5″, while the average Indian woman is only slightly taller than 5 feet. This difference indicates that the average female height varies greatly worldwide.

Am I Short For a Woman?

While men’s height in the US is distributed with standard deviations of 3 inches, standard deviations for women are 2.5 inches. As a 5’6″ man is one standard deviation below the average of 5’9″, a 5’1″ woman is more than one standard deviation below the average, making her objectively short.

Leg to body ratio matters much more for women, though – longer legs are a reliable indicator of childhood nutrition, correlating with higher fertility. Men rate women with a higher leg-to-body ratio as more attractive, with most models and actresses having gorgeous long legs.

What Height is Tall for Women?

In a romantic situation, men prefer women shorter than them. Since the average man is 5’7.5″ worldwide, most men would see a 5’8″ woman as tall. In the US, a 5’9″ woman will be similarly considered tall.

Statistically, too, women 5’7″ and above are one standard deviation over the US average, such that most people would consider them tall. Women 6 feet and taller surpass 95% of their gender in terms of height, making them inarguably tall – perhaps too tall.

Conclusion

A reliable way to determine what height is tall, is to compare them with the country’s average height. You can do this using our height difference calculator…simply input a custom height, country, and gender.

If they’re at least one standard deviation above the average, they’re very likely to be considered tall.

One should keep in mind, however, that while the categories of “tall”, “short”, and “average” may have data backing them up, individual people aren’t programmed to run on data and statistics. In the end, whether a person is tall or short depends entirely on the other person perceiving them.

A 4’11” woman would may find a 6’1″ man too tall for comfort, and the same man would may find her too short for his preferences. On the other hand, both of them could see each other as incredibly attractive, too – one never knows what a person’s personal preference may be, and personality plays a huge role in attraction as well.

For instance, this Britain show sheds some light on women’s and men’s preferences on height. Which just goes to say – everyone has different tastes and there’s no one height fits all.

If you’re still unsatisfied with your height and it causes you severe distress, you may want to consult a therapist. If nothing else works, individuals may consider limb lengthening surgery as an alternative. Though this surgery is expensive, time-consuming, and comes with risks, it can increase height by 2 – 6.3 inches or more at a time.

What Height is Considered Short? (For Men and Women) (2024)

FAQs

What is considered short for men and women? ›

For women, any height under 5′7″ would be considered not-tall by Western women (as they mostly prefer being short, unlike men), and anything sub 5′4″ would be considered short by statistics. For both genders, any height 5′3″ or less would be considered short; slightly short on a girl and ridiculously short on a guy.

What height is considered short for a girl? ›

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, short stature means an estimated final height below 5 feet 3 inches for boys or 4 feet 11 inches for girls. The average height in the United States is 5 feet 8 inches for men and 5 feet 4 inches for women.

How much height is considered short? ›

Here is a guide.... 5′6″ or less is short, 5′7″ to 5′10″ is medium height average (not short) and not tall…but 5′11″ to 6′4″ is tall. 6′5″ up to 6' 8″ is extremely tall. 6′9″ and above is considered gigantism.

At what height are guys considered short? ›

But if you come across the statistics from the latest official US Government data set, you can decide that 5ft 7 inches and below is considered a short height for a man.

Is 5 ft 4 short for a girl? ›

The average height for women in the United States is about 5 foot 4 inches (or about 63.7 inches) tall.

Is 5 5 too short for a guy? ›

No,5.5 is not short for any male.

However,being taller makes you appear more dominant. For this you should use height increasing insoles or elevator shoes. That is pretty much it what you can do about youe height.

What is the prettiest height for a girl? ›

The ideal height for a woman, according to the average man, is 5'6”.

How tall is a normal girl? ›

All figures refer to men and women between the ages of 18 and 25 years. In the US, the average male is 1.77 m tall. The average US-american woman reaches 14 cm less with a height of 1.63 m.

What is the most common height for a woman? ›

The average height for women in the United States is about 5 foot 4 inches (or about 63.7 inches) tall. The average height has increased over time.

What height do girls like? ›

A study on women and men's height preferences found that women are most satisfied when their partner was 8 inches (21cm) taller. Men are most satisfied when they are 3 inches (8cm) taller than their partner.

What is the best height for a man? ›

The average for males is considered to be 5.8 feet or 177 cm. Factors that may influence your height include the following: DNA: Your genetic make-up influences your height, growth plates, and hormones.

Is a 5ft person short? ›

No ! If you are a 5 feet person then you are not a short one . 5 feet is an average Indian height.

Is 5 ft 5 short for a girl? ›

Is 5'5" an average height for a woman? 5 feet 5 inches is a good height. Ergonomically it's the perfect height for a human being.

Is 5 ft 4 short for a man? ›

Yes, 5'8–5'10 is average for American Males(although I'm not sure where you're from) but you will be around the same height as most women and taller than some.

Is 5 ft 2 short for a girl? ›

5′2 gets kind of to the shorter side but it's not too short. It's not a bad height. The average height in USA is 5′4 but 5′2 is average in some places. Anything below 5′2 is short but that doesn't mean your bad.

Can 5 4 be a model? ›

Runway models should be at least 5'8” as a female and 6'0” as a male. For editorial modeling, having the right look is more important than height or slender frame alone. For convention/promotional models, it's more about having an engaging personality and the ability to act as a product spokesperson.

Is 5 foot normal for a woman? ›

In many parts of Asia, including China, the average woman's height is about 5 feet. The average height for women in North America is slightly below the average for women in the U.S. Average heights for women in the U.S. and Canada are the same, while the same average in Mexico is just below 5 feet 2 inches.

How to grow taller? ›

What can I do to become taller? Taking good care of yourself — eating well, exercising regularly, and getting plenty of rest — is the best way to stay healthy and help your body reach its natural potential. There's no magic pill for increasing height. In fact, your genes are the major determinant of how tall you'll be.

Are shorter guys faster? ›

'” In reality, it doesn't make as big of a difference as people think. In fact, while tall people may have longer stride length, they also generally carry more weight than shorter people, which can even out the playing field (although, this, of course, varies from individual to individual).

What is the average height for guys? ›

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , the average age-adjusted height for American men 20 years old and up is 69.1 inches (175.4 centimeters) during the years 2015 to 2016. That's about 5 feet 9 inches tall. This number comes from data published in December 2018.

What is 5 feet 4? ›

Feet to Centimeters (ft to cm) Conversion
Feet + InchesFt + InCentimetres
5 feet 4 inches5′ 4″162.56 cm
5 feet 5 inches5′ 5″165.10 cm
5 feet 6 inches5′ 6″167.64 cm
5 feet 7 inches5′ 7″170.18 cm
33 more rows
Oct 19, 2022

What's the most attractive weight for a woman? ›

Now, normal isn't the same as average. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the average woman is overweight and has a BMI of almost 30. Guys tend to prefer women who have a normal healthy BMI of somewhere between 18–23.

What's the most attractive height? ›

The most attractive height range for men is between 5'11” and 6'3”. Men that get into the “freakishly tall” stage find it harder to date “beautiful women”. Fortunately science backs up the claim that looks aren't everything when choosing a partner.

What is the best height difference between couples? ›

1.09 is the perfect ratio, according to this study. It means that a man has to be 1.09 times taller than his partner.

What country has the tallest people? ›

According to the report, the Netherlands is still the world's tallest nation with the average height in the country for men 183.78 cm, or 6 foot, and 170.36 cm, or 5 foot 7 inches for women.

How tall should a girl be at 2? ›

Your 2-year-old child's growth

At 2 years old, your toddler is growing, growing, grown — to a length that just might predict her future height. Most 2-year-old girls weigh 19½ to 32½ pounds and measure 31½ to 36½ inches tall. Boys typically weigh 21 to 33½ pounds and measure 32 to 37 inches tall.

What is the average clothing size of a woman? ›

The Average Size for Women in America

The average size of an American woman has historically been reported as a size 14. The clothing industry somewhat took this into account and adjusted its sizes. Though, most labels didn't even do that; the majority of clothing lines still sell up to size 12 and that's it.

Which race is the tallest? ›

Latvian women are the tallest on the planet, with an average height of 170cm. * The top four tallest countries for men are the Netherlands, Belgium, Estonia and Latvia. The top four tallest countries for women are Latvia, the Netherlands, Estonia and the Czech Republic.

Does a girl's height matter? ›

The height of your partner really does matter in a relationship - for women at least, researchers have found. They say having a tall partner can make women feel more feminine and protected. They also found that men care far less about the height of their partner.

What is a girls favorite height for a guy? ›

As part of the Girl Power Girl Strong's survey on height preferences in male partners, 76% agreed that they felt most comfortable in a relationship where the man was taller. 25% of those surveyed said 4 to 6 inches and 11% said 6 to 8 inches was the ideal height difference between them and their partner.

What is the age limit for height? ›

Summary: For most people, height will not increase after age 18 to 20 due to the closure of the growth plates in bones. Compression and decompression of the discs in your spine lead to small changes in height throughout the day.

Do girls prefer tall boys? ›

According to the study, dominant reasons that females cited for preferring a tall partner are matters of protection and femininity. "As a girl, I like to feel delicate and secure at the same time,” said a woman in the study. She adds, "something just feels weird in thinking about looking 'down' into her man's eyes".

Why is height so important? ›

Height is also important because it is closely correlated with other health components, such as life expectancy. Studies show that there is a correlation between small stature and a longer life expectancy.

What is too tall for a guy? ›

For everyday living regardless of the dating world, “too tall” would probably be 6′6″/198 cm and above. Again, the sweet spot is 6′0″/183 cm and 6′5″/195 cm.

What makes you shorter? ›

The main cause of shrinking with age has to do with your bones. As bones weaken with age, they can lose bone density (osteopenia or osteoporosis). There can be fractures in the spine which can lead to height loss. The space between vertebrae can become smaller, too.

What can cause short height? ›

What are some of the causes of short stature?
  • Genetics. When a child's parents and grandparents are short, the child may also be short; this is known as familial short stature. ...
  • Genetic conditions. ...
  • Chronic diseases. ...
  • Growth hormone deficiency. ...
  • Malnutrition. ...
  • Psychosocial stress.

Why am I so short in height? ›

The most common cause of short stature is having parents whose height is below average, but around 5 percent of children with short stature have a medical condition. Conditions that can underlie short stature include: undernutrition, due to a disease or lack of nutrients.

What age do girls stop growing? ›

Girls usually stop growing and reach adult height by 14 or 15 years old, or a couple years after menstruation begins. Learn more about growth in girls, what to expect when it happens, and when you may want to call your child's pediatrician.

Is 5 3 a good height for a girl? ›

It is neither short or tall. It is the average height of a woman in USA.

Is 5 feet normal height? ›

Average male height worldwide is usually measured in centimeters by doctors and scientists. The average American man stands just under 5 feet, 10 inches -- or about 5 feet, 9.3 inches to be precise. That's roughly 176 centimeters.

Is 5 3 a good height for a boy? ›

For guys: Very short: below 5′3″ or 160 cm.

How tall is 5 ft 4 in in? ›

Inches and feet form part of the US customary units of measurement and there are 12 inches in 1 foot. Hence in 5 feet 4 inches, there are a total (60 + 4) 64 inches. To convert in cm we need to multiply 64 with 2.54 which is equal to 162.56. Therefore, 5 foot 4 inches in cm is equal to 162.56 cm.

How tall should you be at 4? ›

These kids typically gain about 4–5 pounds (2 kilograms) and grow about 2–3 inches (5 to 8 centimeters) per year. An average 4-year-old weighs about 40 pounds and is about 40 inches tall.

Is 5.1 feet short for a girl? ›

About 68% of the female population is between the height of 5ft 2 inches and 5ft 9 inches. So, any woman shorter than 4ft 10 inches is typically considered short, and taller than 6 ft is assumed to be tall. In a nutshell, if a woman is less than 5ft 3 inches tall, she is considered short.

Is 5 2 considered petite? ›

What Height Is Considered Petite? Petite sizes are designed for women 5'4” and under, regardless of their size. In the petite category, sizes range from extra-small to plus-size. They also have a “P” label to illustrate a smaller and proportioned fit.

What should a 5.2 height girl weigh? ›

Height and Weight Chart for Male and Female
Height in FeetHeight in CMAverage Weight in Kg for Female
5'2” feet157 cm44.9 – 54.9 kg
5'3” feet160 cm47.2 - 57.6 kg
5'4” feet163 cm49 - 59.9 kg
5'5” feet165 cm51.2 - 62.6 kg
15 more rows

Is 5'7 a short height for men? ›

Around 68% of the adult male population are within 3 inches of that height, so 5'7" falls within that majority range. That's pretty "normal" (i.e. common, typical) for men. So 5'7" is a little bit shorter than average, but falls within the typical range for an adult male. It is not exceptionally short.

Is 5 1 considered short? ›

5′1″ is categorized as “short stature”. 5′6″ is considered as “medium stature” and 6 ft. is considered as “long stature”.

Is 5 ft 6 short for a girl? ›

5′6 is not short for a girl at all. It's two inches taller than average in the USA actually. If you were a male your height would be 5′11.

What is the ideal height for a man? ›

The average for males is considered to be 5.8 feet or 177 cm. Factors that may influence your height include the following: DNA: Your genetic make-up influences your height, growth plates, and hormones.
...
Table: Ideal height for men according to body weight.
Body weightIdeal height
176 to 216 lbs6'3”
182 to 222 lbs6'4”
11 more rows
Jul 7, 2022

Is 6 feet for a man short? ›

The average height of a human male is 5'10". So 6 foot is only slightly more than average by 2 inches. So 6 foot is above average, not tall.

What age do you stop growing? ›

Some girls' height tends to peak around age 14 or 15. Boys, however, may grow until around 16 but may show the most growth between ages 12 and 15. The percentile your child falls into isn't as important as consistency.

Is 5 ft 2 short for a woman? ›

The average female height worldwide is 5'3 and the average female height in America is 5'4 so yes 5'2 is short for a woman because it's below the average heights.

Is 5 feet short for a woman in India? ›

The average height of women in India is about 5 ft. Various factors influence the height of women - sleep, hormone, nutrition, family environment, and sex.

What height is the most attractive? ›

On average, women say a romantic partner 5'3” or shorter is generally too short for comfort, while a partner 6'3” or taller is too tall, and the “ideal” height for a man is 5'11”. The survey also finds that for the average British man, a partner becomes too short at 4'11” and too tall at 6'.

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