Average Height
Average Height in Belgium
Men: 181.7 cm·Women: 165.5 cm
Men · 1996
181.7 cm
Women · 1996
165.5 cm
Men · 1896 baseline
167.2 cm
Women · 1896 baseline
155.4 cm
Men world rank:#2Women world rank:#21
Height trend across birth cohorts
Insights
Between 1896 and 1996, the mean adult male height in Belgium rose from 167.2 cm to 181.7 cm — a gain of 14.5 cm over 100 years.
- Men in Belgium ranked 2nd globally in the 1996 birth cohort.
- The 16.2 cm gap between men and women is above the typical range.
All cohorts, 1896–1996
| Cohort | Men (cm) | Women (cm) | Gap (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | 167.2 | 155.4 | 11.8 |
| 1897 | 167.3 | 155.5 | 11.8 |
| 1898 | 167.4 | 155.7 | 11.7 |
| 1899 | 167.5 | 155.8 | 11.7 |
| 1900 | 167.6 | 155.9 | 11.7 |
| 1901 | 167.7 | 156.0 | 11.7 |
| 1902 | 167.8 | 156.2 | 11.6 |
| 1903 | 167.9 | 156.3 | 11.6 |
| 1904 | 168.0 | 156.4 | 11.6 |
| 1905 | 168.1 | 156.5 | 11.6 |
| 1906 | 168.2 | 156.7 | 11.5 |
| 1907 | 168.3 | 156.8 | 11.5 |
| 1908 | 168.4 | 156.9 | 11.5 |
| 1909 | 168.5 | 157.0 | 11.5 |
| 1910 | 168.6 | 157.2 | 11.4 |
| 1911 | 168.7 | 157.3 | 11.4 |
| 1912 | 168.8 | 157.4 | 11.4 |
| 1913 | 168.9 | 157.6 | 11.3 |
| 1914 | 169.1 | 157.7 | 11.4 |
| 1915 | 169.2 | 157.9 | 11.3 |
| 1916 | 169.3 | 158.0 | 11.3 |
| 1917 | 169.5 | 158.2 | 11.3 |
| 1918 | 169.6 | 158.3 | 11.3 |
| 1919 | 169.7 | 158.5 | 11.2 |
| 1920 | 169.9 | 158.6 | 11.3 |
| 1921 | 170.0 | 158.8 | 11.2 |
| 1922 | 170.1 | 158.9 | 11.2 |
| 1923 | 170.2 | 159.1 | 11.1 |
| 1924 | 170.3 | 159.2 | 11.1 |
| 1925 | 170.4 | 159.3 | 11.1 |
| 1926 | 170.6 | 159.5 | 11.1 |
| 1927 | 170.7 | 159.6 | 11.1 |
| 1928 | 170.8 | 159.7 | 11.1 |
| 1929 | 171.0 | 159.9 | 11.1 |
| 1930 | 171.1 | 160.0 | 11.1 |
| 1931 | 171.3 | 160.1 | 11.2 |
| 1932 | 171.4 | 160.2 | 11.2 |
| 1933 | 171.6 | 160.3 | 11.3 |
| 1934 | 171.7 | 160.5 | 11.2 |
| 1935 | 171.9 | 160.6 | 11.3 |
| 1936 | 172.1 | 160.7 | 11.4 |
| 1937 | 172.3 | 160.9 | 11.4 |
| 1938 | 172.4 | 161.0 | 11.4 |
| 1939 | 172.6 | 161.1 | 11.5 |
| 1940 | 172.8 | 161.2 | 11.6 |
| 1941 | 172.9 | 161.3 | 11.6 |
| 1942 | 173.1 | 161.4 | 11.7 |
| 1943 | 173.3 | 161.5 | 11.8 |
| 1944 | 173.4 | 161.6 | 11.8 |
| 1945 | 173.6 | 161.7 | 11.9 |
| 1946 | 173.8 | 161.8 | 12.0 |
| 1947 | 174.0 | 161.9 | 12.1 |
| 1948 | 174.2 | 162.0 | 12.2 |
| 1949 | 174.4 | 162.1 | 12.3 |
| 1950 | 174.6 | 162.2 | 12.4 |
| 1951 | 174.8 | 162.3 | 12.5 |
| 1952 | 175.0 | 162.4 | 12.6 |
| 1953 | 175.2 | 162.6 | 12.6 |
| 1954 | 175.4 | 162.7 | 12.7 |
| 1955 | 175.6 | 162.8 | 12.8 |
| 1956 | 175.8 | 163.0 | 12.8 |
| 1957 | 176.1 | 163.2 | 12.9 |
| 1958 | 176.3 | 163.3 | 13.0 |
| 1959 | 176.5 | 163.5 | 13.0 |
| 1960 | 176.7 | 163.7 | 13.0 |
| 1961 | 176.9 | 163.8 | 13.1 |
| 1962 | 177.1 | 164.0 | 13.1 |
| 1963 | 177.3 | 164.2 | 13.1 |
| 1964 | 177.5 | 164.3 | 13.2 |
| 1965 | 177.6 | 164.4 | 13.2 |
| 1966 | 177.8 | 164.6 | 13.2 |
| 1967 | 178.0 | 164.7 | 13.3 |
| 1968 | 178.1 | 164.8 | 13.3 |
| 1969 | 178.3 | 164.9 | 13.4 |
| 1970 | 178.5 | 165.0 | 13.5 |
| 1971 | 178.6 | 165.0 | 13.6 |
| 1972 | 178.8 | 165.1 | 13.7 |
| 1973 | 178.9 | 165.2 | 13.7 |
| 1974 | 179.1 | 165.2 | 13.9 |
| 1975 | 179.2 | 165.3 | 13.9 |
| 1976 | 179.4 | 165.3 | 14.1 |
| 1977 | 179.5 | 165.3 | 14.2 |
| 1978 | 179.6 | 165.3 | 14.3 |
| 1979 | 179.8 | 165.3 | 14.5 |
| 1980 | 179.9 | 165.3 | 14.6 |
| 1981 | 180.0 | 165.3 | 14.7 |
| 1982 | 180.1 | 165.3 | 14.8 |
| 1983 | 180.2 | 165.3 | 14.9 |
| 1984 | 180.4 | 165.4 | 15.0 |
| 1985 | 180.5 | 165.4 | 15.1 |
| 1986 | 180.6 | 165.4 | 15.2 |
| 1987 | 180.7 | 165.4 | 15.3 |
| 1988 | 180.8 | 165.4 | 15.4 |
| 1989 | 180.9 | 165.4 | 15.5 |
| 1990 | 181.0 | 165.4 | 15.6 |
| 1991 | 181.1 | 165.4 | 15.7 |
| 1992 | 181.2 | 165.5 | 15.7 |
| 1993 | 181.4 | 165.5 | 15.9 |
| 1994 | 181.5 | 165.5 | 16.0 |
| 1995 | 181.6 | 165.5 | 16.1 |
| 1996 | 181.7 | 165.5 | 16.2 |
Explore by sex and age
Notable people from Belgium with known heights
Jean-Claude Van Damme
177 cm · 5'10"
b. 1960
Eden Hazard
175 cm · 5'9"
b. 1991
Kevin De Bruyne
181 cm · 5'11"
b. 1991
Romelu Lukaku
191 cm · 6'3"
b. 1993
Thibaut Courtois
200 cm · 6'7"
b. 1992
Heights from Wikidata (property P2048). Shown for published persons sorted by priority score.
Sources & methodology
Mean adult height by birth cohort, ages 20+. Figures are modelled from pooled population-representative surveys and measurement studies compiled by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) and published via Our World in Data.
Cohorts are labelled by birth year, not by survey year. Reported heights reflect the adult height those cohorts reached, typically measured in their 20s or 30s.
License: CC BY 4.0. Last updated: 2026-04-21.