

The chart presents the expected growth rates for healthy boys and girls during childhood and adolescence. But when does this differentiation in heights take place? How do the growth trends for boys and girls in childhood differ?

By contrast, in the Philippines this difference has doubled from 7 cm to 14 cm, meaning that average height of Filipino men has increased faster than that of Filipino women.Īs we’ve previously explored, the average man is taller than the average woman: this holds true across all countries in the world. A century ago, South Korean males were on average 18 cm taller than their female counterparts this difference has fallen to 13 cm, meaning that South Korean women have seen larger absolute gains in height than South Korean men. The global ratio – around 1.07 – has remained pretty much constant since the data began in 1896 despite large increases in absolute terms in the average heights of both men and women.ĭespite a relatively consistent ratio at the global level, some countries have seen significant changes. Regionally, the gap in mean height between men and women is smallest across Sub-Saharan Africa: there, many countries lie below the global average difference of 7%. Globally, the ratio is 1.07, meaning that on average, men are about 7% taller than women.Īcross the world, this relative difference between the sexes can vary from only 2-3% to over 12%. The following map shows the ratio of male-to-female average heights across the world. A century later, this was almost the same – 10 to 11 cm. Compared to men, there was less of a divergence in female heights by region: for women born in 1896, the gap between the tallest and shortest region was 9 to 10 cm. Again, the trends are similar: heights of European and Central Asian women increased the most – gaining 11 cm and overtaking North American women. We can also see this regional change for women, here. 100 years later, this gap had increased to 12 cm. For men born in 1896, there was an eight centimetre gap in mean height between the shortest and tallest region. Overall, the regional variation in male heights increased over the last century. The smallest absolute gains were seen for South Asian men mean height increased by only 5 cm. Here we see that the largest gains in height were seen for European and Central Asian men their mean height increased by 11 cm, overtaking North American men in the process. The following slope chart illustrates the changes in mean male height by region.

There are significant regional variations in change in average human heights. Total calories from animal protein vs.Relative increase in mean heights of men born in 1996 vs.Relative increase in mean heights of females born in 1996 vs.Mean adult height by year of birth, males vs.Male-to-female height ratio by year of birth.Increase in mean heights of males born in 1996 vs.Increase in mean heights of females born in 1996 vs.Change in mean female height over 100 years.Average height of women by year of birth.Average height of men by year of birth NCD-RisC.Average height of men by year of birth Baten & Blum.Average height of men by year of birth University of Tuebingen.
