Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAverage Height of Women in America vs. WorldwideWhat Determines a Woman’s Height?Average Height of American GirlsMisconceptions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Average Height of Women in America vs. Worldwide
What Determines a Woman’s Height?
Average Height of American Girls
Misconceptions
The average heights of women around the world vary widely, based on factors like ethnicity, national origin, and environment. Theaverage heightof a woman in the United States is approximately 5 feet 3.5 inches tall.
In this article, we’ll provide information about the average height of women in the U.S. and worldwide. We will also go over the factors that can influence a woman’s growth, the average height of American girls, and common misconceptions about tall women.
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Worldwide, the average height for women ranges from approximately 4 feet 11 inches tall in Guatemala to about 5 feet 7 inches tall in the Netherlands.You can browse the average heights in various regions in the chart below:
Many different factors can influence a woman’s height, including:
Typically,weightincreases with height. Some people use body mass index (BMI), a calculation that estimates body fat based on your height and weight, to screen for potential health-related risk factors. However, body composition can vary widely, and BMI isn’t always a reliable indicator of your health status.
Researchers Say Waist-to-Hip Ratio Should Replace BMI—Here’s Why
From ages 14 to 19 (i.e., afterpuberty), the average height of girls in the U.S. is around the same as that of American women—between 5 feet 3 inches and 5 feet 4 inches.
Average Height for Men In America and Around the World
Misconceptions About Female Tallness
There are several popular misconceptions about tall women. For example, some people assume that taller-than-average girls and women struggle withbody image. However, studies suggest that most tall women in the U.S. are satisfied with their height.
Tall women are also sometimes perceived as more aggressive, dominant, and higher status than shorter women.However, there is a considerably weaker connection between height and these social and cultural perceptions for women than there is for men.Research indicates, for example, that female height doesn’t typically play a significant role in gender roles within romantic relationships.
How Long Do Short People Live?
Summary
Based on the most recent available data, the average height of an American woman is slightly less than 5 feet 4 inches tall. The average heights of women worldwide range from just under 5 feet tall to around 5 feet 7 inches.
13 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Center for Health Statistics.Anthropometric reference data for children and adults: United States, 2015–2018.
NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC).Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants.Lancet. 2020;396(10261):1511-1524. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31859-6
Hua Y, Remer T.Adult stature and protein intake during childhood and adolescence from 3 years onward.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022;107(7):e2833-e2842. doi:10.1210/clinem/dgac205
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Why is sleep important?.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Assessing your weight.
Frederick DA, Crerand CE, Brown TA, et al.Demographic predictors of body image satisfaction: the U.S. Body Project I.Body Image. 2022;41:17-31. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.01.011
Palmer-Hague JL.Aggression type influences perceptions of a woman’s body size, personality, and behavior.Evol Psychol. 2020;18(2):1474704920917930. doi:10.1177/1474704920917930
Tao HL.Gender-role ideology and height preference in mate selection.Econ Hum Biol. 2020;39:100927. doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2020.100927
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