average height in south africa
men and women together, and how common every height is.
5'7" · 5'2"
the typical young man in South Africa is 5'7" (169 cm) and the typical young woman is 5'2" (158 cm) at ages 21–24. that ranks 153rd for men and 154th for women out of 200 countries. against the us, young men in South Africa are 6.7 cm shorter and young women 4.6 cm shorter.
how common is your height in south africa?
| height | men | women |
|---|---|---|
| 4'10" (147 cm) | 0.082% | 4% |
| 4'11" (150 cm) | 0.26% | 9% |
| 5'0" (152 cm) | 0.76% | 18% |
| 5'1" (155 cm) | 2% | 30% |
| 5'2" (157 cm) | 4% | 45% |
| 5'3" (160 cm) | 9% | 61% |
| 5'4" (163 cm) | 16% | 75% |
| 5'5" (165 cm) | 27% | 86% |
| 5'6" (168 cm) | 40% | 93% |
| 5'7" (170 cm) | 54% | 97% |
| 5'8" (173 cm) | 68% | 99% |
| 5'9" (175 cm) | 80% | 99.62% |
| 5'10" (178 cm) | 88% | 99.89% |
| 5'11" (180 cm) | 94% | 99.974% |
| 6'0" (183 cm) | 97% | 99.9939% |
| 6'1" (185 cm) | 99% | over 99.999% |
| 6'2" (188 cm) | 99.57% | over 99.999% |
| 6'3" (190 cm) | 99.87% | over 99.999% |
| 6'4" (193 cm) | 99.958% | over 99.999% |
south africa against its neighbours
| country | men | women | men vs South Africa | women vs South Africa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 5'7" (169 cm) | 5'2" (158 cm) | – | – |
| Nigeria | 5'8" (172 cm) | 5'2" (158 cm) | +2.9 cm | -0.1 cm |
| Kenya | 5'7" (171 cm) | 5'3" (160 cm) | +1.3 cm | +1.2 cm |
| Egypt | 5'9" (176 cm) | 5'4" (162 cm) | +6.8 cm | +3.2 cm |
| United States | 5'9" (176 cm) | 5'4" (163 cm) | +6.7 cm | +4.6 cm |
how tall are you there?
against young adults aged 21–24. nothing you pick leaves this page.
see how 5'7" ranks for a man in the us on its own page, or 5'2" for a woman on this one. every country side by side: average height by country.
how this is worked out
Modelled national means (NCD-RisC), wide uncertainty where surveys are sparse; ages 13-25 projected from the 2009-2019 trend as in the world curve. SD from WHO's S (+/-10% moves a wheel answer under 2 points). One curve per country; self-reported heights run 1-3 cm tall everywhere. Full method: build_v10.py, pool_height.py.
- Height and BMI trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents, 1985-2019, 200 countries (NCD-RisC), Lancet 396:1511-1524 · NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, 2020
- WHO growth reference 5-19 years: height-for-age · World Health Organization, 2007
questions people ask
- How tall is the average person in South Africa?
- For ages 21–24, men average about 5'7" (169 cm) and women about 5'2" (158 cm).
- Are people in South Africa tall or short?
- Young men in South Africa rank 153rd and young women 154th of 200 countries by typical height.
- How does height in South Africa compare with the US?
- Typical young men in South Africa are 6.7 cm shorter than Americans and young women 4.6 cm shorter.
- What height is average for a man in South Africa?
- 5'7" is the middle: about 50% of young men there are shorter. 5'2" is the middle for women.
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