is 5'3" tall for a woman?
it depends on your age and where you grew up. here's the actual percentile.
34th percentile
no: 5'3" (160.0 cm) is below average for a woman in the us, taller than 34% of women aged 21–24. the typical american woman that age is 5'4" (163 cm), so 5'3" is 1 inch below the middle.
5'3" by age
the same height reads differently at 16 than at 30, because the middle moves as people finish growing.
| age | 5'3" is taller than | typical woman |
|---|---|---|
| 13–15 | 59% | 5'2" (159 cm) |
| 16–17 | 36% | 5'4" (162 cm) |
| 18–20 | 35% | 5'4" (163 cm) |
| 21–24 | 34% | 5'4" (163 cm) |
| 25–29 | 35% | 5'4" (163 cm) |
| 30–35 | 36% | 5'4" (163 cm) |
5'3" in other countries
5'3" is above average in the Philippines (taller than 81%) and short in the Netherlands (taller than 6%). young women aged 21–24:
| country | 5'3" is | typical woman, 21–24 |
|---|---|---|
| Philippines | taller than 81% | 5'1" (155 cm) |
| India | taller than 74% | 5'1" (156 cm) |
| Nigeria | taller than 61% | 5'2" (158 cm) |
| Mexico | taller than 60% | 5'2" (158 cm) |
| Japan | taller than 59% | 5'2" (159 cm) |
| Spain | taller than 39% | 5'4" (162 cm) |
| Italy | taller than 38% | 5'4" (162 cm) |
| United States | taller than 34% | 5'4" (163 cm) |
| Brazil | taller than 33% | 5'4" (163 cm) |
| South Korea | taller than 28% | 5'5" (164 cm) |
| United Kingdom | taller than 27% | 5'5" (164 cm) |
| France | taller than 24% | 5'5" (165 cm) |
| China | taller than 24% | 5'5" (165 cm) |
| Australia | taller than 24% | 5'5" (165 cm) |
| Canada | taller than 23% | 5'5" (165 cm) |
| Germany | taller than 18% | 5'5" (166 cm) |
| Netherlands | taller than 6% | 5'7" (170 cm) |
check any height
against american women. nothing you pick leaves this page.
nearby heights
how this is worked out
us: United States, ages 21-24: normal, mean 162.9 cm, sd 7.0, chosen to match the published centre and spread in the sources; breakpoints are the world curve's own (every wheel edge). other countries: national means from ncd-risc with the who's spread. people overstate their height by 1–3 cm on average. 5'3" = 63 inches = 160.0 cm = 1.60 m.
- Anthropometric Reference Data for Children and Adults: United States, 2015–2018 · CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NHSR 160), 2021
- 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
- Is 5'3" tall for a woman?
- In the US, 5'3" is taller than about 34% of women aged 21–24, so it is below average.
- How tall is the typical American woman?
- About 5'4" (162.9 cm) for women aged 21–24; half are taller and half are shorter.
- Is 5'3" short anywhere?
- It depends on the country: 5'3" is taller than 81% of women in the Philippines but 6% in the Netherlands.
- How many centimetres is 5'3"?
- 5'3" is 63 inches, which is 160.0 cm or 1.60 m.
that's one number. behind scores eight.
money, looks, height, popularity, screen time and more, each ranked against everyone born your year in the country you grew up in. one card, about two minutes.
see your card on the app store