The 25 countries with the shortest populations, ranked

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Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Height varies around the world, but some countries stand out for their generally short citizens. Using medical data, Business Insider found the average heights of the 25 shortest countries. Many African and Southeast Asian countries are represented on the list. AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. What factors influence height variation? Which regions have taller populations? How has height changed over decades? How does nutrition affect height? Why is height important in studies? Worldwide, there's about a 20-centimeter, or 7.8-inch, difference in the average height of a child between the tallest and shortest countries, per a 2020 study reported in The Lancet.In the Netherlands — ranked as having the tallest population of any country — the average man towers at 6 feet 0.36 inches (183.8 cm). But at the other end of the scale, the average height is considerably lower in many countries. NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, a project run by Imperial College London, collected health metrics such as height and blood pressure from 1985 to 2019 in every country in the world. Results show that among the top 25 countries with the shortest people, the overwhelming majority were African or Southeast Asian.Genetics is only part of the answer, Majid Ezzati, who runs the NCD study at Imperial College London, told BBC News in 2016."Genes don't change that fast and they don't vary that much across the world," he said. "So changes over time and variations across the world are largely environmental." Environmental factors such as poor diet are likely part of the answer, the BBC reported, citing The Lancet analysis. Average heights in several nations, such as Japan, South Korea, and China, have increased in recent years, while in some sub-Saharan African nations, such as Uganda and Sierra Leone, they have decreased.The NCD lists the mean heights for 19-year-old men and women in each country. Business Insider averaged these two figures to derive a rough idea of the typical height of a person in the country.See the 25 countries with the shortest populations on average. 25. The average height in Sri Lanka is 5 feet 3.04 inches (160.12 cm). Catholics in Mannar, Sri Lanka, prayed at the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu.

Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images The average man from Sri Lanka is 5 feet 5.23 inches (165.68 cm) tall.The average woman from Sri Lanka is 5 feet 0.85 inches (154.56 cm) tall. 24. The average height in Honduras is 5 feet 3.03 inches (160.11 cm).

President Xiomara Castro smiled after receiving the presidential sash, as her husband, former President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted by a military coup in 2009, right, applauded in 2022. Moises Castillo/AP Photo The average man from Honduras is 5 feet 5.5 inches (166.39 cm) tall.The average woman from Honduras is 5.056 inches (153.84 cm) tall. 23. The average height in Liberia is 5 feet 2.85 inches (159.66 cm). Liberians greeted a convoy of members of the US assessment team during a mission in 2003 in Monrovia, Liberia. Chris Hondros/Getty Images The average man from Liberia is 5 feet 4.43 inches (163.66 cm) tall.The average woman from Liberia is 5 feet 1.28 inches (155.66 cm) tall. 22. The average height in Myanmar is 5 feet 2.8 inches (159.52 cm). Customers at a local bazaar near Innlay Lake, in southern Shan State, Myanmar, in 2019. Thein Zaw/AP Photo The average man from Myanmar is 5 feet 4.83 inches (164.67 cm) tall.The average woman from Myanmar is 5 feet 0.77 inches (154.37 cm) tall. 21. The average height in Brunei is 5 feet 2.79 inches (159.49 cm). Bill Clinton with Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah at the Jerudong Polo Club, Brunei, in 2000. AP The average man from Brunei is 5 feet 4.96 inches (165 cm) tall.The average woman from Brunei is 5 feet 0.62 inches (153.98 cm) tall. 20. The average height in Bhutan is 5 feet 2.77 inches (159.46 cm).

Miss Bhutan Tashi Choden during the preliminary round of the 71st Miss Universe Beauty Pageant in New Orleans in 2023. Gerald Herbert/AP Photo The average man from Bhutan is 5 feet 5.07 inches (165.3 cm) tall.The average woman from Bhutan is 5 feet 0.48 inches (153.62 cm) tall. 19. The average height in Mozambique is 5 feet 2.74 inches (159.37 cm).

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and the minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources of Mozambique, Carlos Alberto Fortes Mesquita, in 2023.

Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP Photo The average man from Mozambique is 5 feet 4.88 inches (164.79 cm) tall.The average woman from Mozambique is 5 feet 0.61 inches (153.96 cm) tall. 18. The average height in Solomon Islands is 5 feet 2.7 inches (159.3 cm). Players of the Solomon Islands men's national soccer team line up ahead of a friendly match vs. St. Kitts and Nevis. Robertus Pudyanto - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images The average man from the Solomon Islands is 5 feet 4.62 inches (164.14 cm) tall.The average woman from the Solomon Islands is 5 feet 0.79 inches (154.41 cm) tall. 17. The average height in Papua New Guinea is 5 feet 2.68 inches (159.21 cm).

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Tarso SARRAF/AFP via Getty Images The average man from Papua New Guinea is 5 feet 4.39 inches (163.56 cm) tall.The average woman from Papua New Guinea is 5 feet 0.97 inches (154.87 cm) tall. 16. The average height in Peru is 5 feet 2.63 inches (159.08 cm). Dancers performed in a pre-feast presentation in honor of Our Lady of Candelaria's feast day celebrations in Lima, Peru, in 2015. Martin Mejia/AP Photo The average man from Peru is 5 feet 5.05 inches (165.23 cm) tall.The average woman from Peru is 5 feet 0.21 inches (152.93 cm) tall. 15. The average height in Vietnam is 5 feet 2.6 inches (159.01 cm). Australia's former Prime Minister Scott Morrison with Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi in 2019. NHAC NGUYEN/AFP via Getty Images The average man from Vietnam is 5 feet 4.74 inches (164.44 cm) tall.The average woman from Vietnam is 5 feet 0.46 inches (153.59 cm) tall. 14. The average height in India is 5 feet 2.5 inches (158.76 cm). Indian cricket player Sachin Tendulkar at Lord's Cricket Ground in London, England, in 2014. Ben Hoskins/Getty Images The average man from India is 5 feet 4.93 inches (164.94 cm) tall.The average woman from India is 5 feet 0.07 inches (152.58 cm) tall. 13. The average height in Rwanda is 5 feet 2.49 inches (158.73 cm). Rwanda's president, Paul Kagame, during the annual meeting of the WEF in Davos in 2016. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich The average man from Rwanda is 5 feet 4.04 inches (162.67 cm) tall.The average woman from Rwanda is 5 feet 2.49 inches (158.73 cm) tall. 12. The average height in Malawi is 5 feet 2.32 inches (158.31 cm). Malawians on bicycles in the Machinga district of Malawi in 2016. Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP Photo The average man from Malawi is 5 feet 3.86 inches (162.22 cm) tall.The average woman from Malawi is 5 feet 0.78 inches (154.4 cm) tall. 11. The average height in Indonesia is 5 feet 2.27 inches (158.17 cm). Muslim Indonesians walked towards Babussalam Mosque in West Java province, Indonesia, to offer Eid prayers. Aditya Irawan/NurPhoto via Getty Images The average man from Indonesia is 5 feet 4.39 inches (163.55 cm) tall.The average woman from Indonesia is 5 feet 0.15 inches (152.79 cm) tall. 10. The average height in Cambodia is 5 feet 2.24 inches (158.11 cm). Workers marched to mark International Labour Day in Phnom Penh on May 1, 2019. TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP via Getty Images The average man from Cambodia is 5 feet 4.30 inches (163.32 cm) tall.The average woman from Cambodia is 5 feet 0.19 inches (152.9 cm) tall. 9. The average height in Bangladesh is 5 feet 1.92 inches (157.29 cm). Bangladeshi roadside vendors on the banks of the River Buriganga in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 2016. A.M. Ahad/AP Photo The average man from Bangladesh is 5 feet 4.48 inches (163.8 cm) tall.The average woman from Bangladesh is 4 feet 11.36 inches (150.78 cm) tall. 8. The average height in the Marshall Islands is 5 feet 1.83 inches (157.05 cm). Mothers and children played volleyball on a beach in Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands in 2015. Rob Griffith, File/AP Photo The average man from the Marshall Islands is 5 feet 4.09 inches (162.8 cm) tall.The average woman from the Marshall Islands is 4 feet 11.56 inches (151.3 cm) tall. 7. The average height in Yemen is 5 feet 1.78 inches (156.92 cm). Supporters of Yemen's Houthis movement participated in a rally held to mark the 11th anniversary of the military campaign launched by the Saudi-led coalition. Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images The average man from Yemen is 5 feet 2.94 inches (159.88 cm) tall.The average woman from Yemen is 5 feet 0.61 inches (153.97 cm) tall. 6. The average height in Nepal is 5 feet 1.64 inches (156.58 cm).

Outgoing President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, right, congratulated Nepal's new president, Ram Chandra Poudel, after he took the oath of office in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2023. Dipen Shrestha/AP Photo The average man from Nepal is 5 feet 3.9 inches (162.31 cm) tall.The average woman from Nepal is 4 feet 11.39 inches (150.86 cm) tall. 5. The average height in the Philippines is 5 feet 1.57 inches (156.41 cm). Rico Hoey, who is 5 feet 10 inches, of the Philippines, lined up a putt during the Texas Children's Houston Open 2026. Mike Mulholland/Getty Images The average man from the Philippines is 5 feet 4.25 inches (163.22 cm) tall.The average woman from the Philippines is 4 feet 10.89 inches (149.6 cm) tall. 4. The average height in Guatemala is 5 feet 1.57 inches (156.39 cm). Men in front of a building in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Anadolu/Getty Images The average man from Guatemala is 5 feet 4.33 inches (163.4 cm) tall.The average woman from Guatemala is 4 feet 10.81 inches (149.38 cm) tall. 3. The average height in Madagascar is 5 feet 1.56 inches (156.36 cm). People waited for the arrival of Pope Francis during his visit to the City of Friendship in Akamasoa, Madagascar, in 2019. Alessandra Tarantino/AP Photo The average man from Madagascar is 5 feet 3.6 inches (161.54 cm) tall.The average woman from Madagascar is 4 feet 11.51 inches (151.18 cm) tall. 2. The average height in Laos is 5 feet 1.37 inches (155.89 cm). Shoppers walked through a local market in downtown Vientiane, Laos, in 2012. Vincent Thian/AP Photo The average man from Laos is 5 feet 3.19 inches (160.51 cm) tall.The average woman from Laos is 4 feet 11.55 inches (151.26 cm) tall. 1. The average height in Timor-Leste is 5 feet 1.28 inches (155.47 cm). France's President Emmanuel Macron welcomed East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta in France. Ludovic MARIN/AFP via Getty Images The average man from Timor-Leste is 5 feet 2.9 inches (159.79 cm) tall.The average woman from Timor-Leste is 4 feet 11.5 inches (151.15cm) tall.