10 Countries with the Shortest Average Male Height

Key Takeaways

• Timor-Leste has the shortest average male height in this dataset at 160.1 cm (5’3″), while Madagascar is the tallest among the bottom 10 at 165.2 cm (5’5″).
• Eight of the ten countries are separated by only about 2.4 cm (less than 1 inch), showing that average male height is very similar across most of this group.
• The bottom 10 countries are located across South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands, revealing noticeable regional patterns in global height.
• Average height represents the population as a whole and should not be used to describe individuals. Every country has people who are much taller or shorter than its national average.

At first glance, these countries may appear to have large differences in height, but the numbers tell a different story. Excluding Timor-Leste, the remaining nine countries are grouped within just a few centimeters of one another. This shows that, although they rank near the bottom globally, their average male heights are actually quite similar.

Height is influenced by a combination of genetics, nutrition, healthcare, and childhood living conditions. Improvements in diet, disease prevention, and access to healthcare over several generations can gradually increase the average height of a population. For this reason, average height is often viewed as more than just a physical characteristic. It can also reflect broader trends in public health and human development.

To better appreciate these differences, it is useful to compare this list with the countries that have the tallest average men. Looking at both ends of the ranking provides a broader perspective on how average height varies around the world and the many factors that contribute to these differences over time.

Data source: NCD-RisC. The data were filtered to include men only and the “age group 19” category, which is used here as a proxy for adult male height.