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Sultan Kösen, who hails from Turkey, is nearly 8 feet 3 inches tall and may be the tallest person on the planet.
Despite his impressive stature, his country isn't among those with the tallest people, according to the medical database from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration.
From 1985 to 2019, the project collected height, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and other health metrics from over 2,500 population surveys across 193 countries.
The NCD lists the mean heights for 19-year-old men and women in each country. Averaging these two figures gives a rough idea of how tall the typical person is in the country.
Notably, the US isn't on the list. It ranked 58th for women, at 5 feet 4.29 inches (163.3 cm), and 47th for men at 5 feet 9.65 inches (176.9 cm).
These are the 25 countries that (literally) came out on top.
The mean height for men from Greece is 5 feet 10.59 inches (179.3 cm).
The mean height for women from Greece is 5 feet 5.28 inches (165.8 cm).
The mean height for men from Austria is 5 feet 10.28 inches (178.5 cm).
The mean height for women from Austria is 5 feet 5.71 inches (166.9 cm).
The mean height for men from Belarus is 5 feet 10.35 inches (178.7 cm).
The mean height for women from Belarus is 5 feet 5.71 inches (166.9 cm).
The mean height for men from the Cook Islands is 5 feet 10.19 inches (178.3 cm).
The mean height for women from the Cook Islands is 5 feet 5.87 inches (167.3 cm).
The mean height for men from Bermuda is 5 feet 10.75 inches (179.7 cm).
The mean height for women from Bermuda is 5 feet 5.39 inches (166.1 cm).
The mean height for men from Poland is 5 feet 11.14 inches (180.7 cm).
The mean height for women from Poland is 5 feet 5.28 inches (165.8 cm).
The mean height for men from Germany is 5 feet 10.98 inches (180.3 cm).
The mean height for women from Germany is 5 feet 5.43 inches (166.2 cm).
The mean height for men from Norway is 5 feet 11.06 inches (180.5 cm).
The mean height for women from Norway is 5 feet 5.51 inches (166.4 cm).
The mean height for men from Finland is 5 feet 11.1 inches (180.6 cm).
The mean height for women from Finland is 5 feet 5.55 inches (166.5 cm).
The mean height for men from Dominica is 5 feet 10.94 inches (180.2 cm).
The mean height for women from Dominica is 5 feet 5.71 inches (166.9 cm).
The mean height for men from Sweden is 5 feet 11.06 inches (180.5 cm).
The mean height for women from Sweden is 5 feet 5.63 inches (166.7 cm).
The mean height for men from Ukraine is 5 feet 11.26 inches (181 cm).
The mean height for women from Ukraine is 5 feet 5.59 inches (166.6 cm).
The mean height for men from Croatia is 5 feet 11.18 inches (180.8 cm).
The mean height for women from Croatia is 5 feet 5.67 inches (166.8 cm).
The mean height for men from Slovakia is 5 feet 11.26 inches (181 cm).
The mean height for women from Slovakia is 5 feet 5.79 inches (167.1 cm).
The mean height for men from Slovenia is 5 feet 11.26 inches (181 cm).
The mean height for women from Slovenia is 5 feet 5.83 inches (167.2 cm).
The mean height for men from Lithuania is 5 feet 11.14 inches (180.7 cm).
The mean height for women from Lithuania is 5 feet 5.98 inches (167.6 cm).
The mean height for men from Serbia is 5 feet 11.14 inches (180.7 cm).
The mean height for women from Serbia is 5 feet 6.26 inches (168.3 cm).
The mean height for men from the Czech Republic is 5 feet 11.34 inches (181.2 cm).
The mean height for women from the Czech Republic is 5 feet 6.14 inches (168 cm).
The mean height for men from Bosnia & Herzegovina is 5 feet 11.85 inches (182.5 cm).
The mean height for women from Bosnia & Herzegovina is 5 feet 5.94 inches (167.5 cm).
The mean height for men from Latvia is 5 feet 11.34 inches (181.2 cm).
The mean height for women from Latvia is 5 feet 6.46 inches (168.8 cm).
The mean height for men from Iceland is 5 feet 11.69 inches (182.1 cm).
The mean height for women from Iceland is 5 feet 6.5 inches (168.9 cm).
The mean height for men from Denmark is 5 feet 11.61 inches (181.9 cm).
The mean height for women from Denmark is 5 feet 6.73 inches (169.5 cm).
The mean height for men from Estonia is 5 feet 11.97 inches (182.8 cm).
The mean height for women from Estonia is 5 feet 6.42 inches (168.7 cm).
The mean height for men from Montenegro is 6 feet 0.17 inches (183.3 cm).
The mean height for women from Montenegro is 5 feet 6.93 inches (170 cm).
The mean height for men from the Netherlands is 6 feet 0.36 inches (183.8 cm).
The mean height for women from the Netherlands is 5 feet 7.09 inches (170.4 cm).
A note on mean versus average heights: Using mean heights instead of averages gives a sense of which countries have the most people who are tall. For example, many Icelandic men are 5 feet 11 inches.
The list would look different ranked by average heights. The Federal Statistical Office of Germany calculates heights by average, for example, and the results would bump the country up several spots in the rankings.
This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated on December 18, 2024.