Average Height
Average Height in Canada
Men: 178.1 cm·Women: 163.9 cm
Men · 1996
178.1 cm
Women · 1996
163.9 cm
Men · 1896 baseline
170.7 cm
Women · 1896 baseline
157.6 cm
Men world rank:#27Women world rank:#39
Height trend across birth cohorts
Insights
Between 1896 and 1996, the mean adult male height in Canada rose from 170.7 cm to 178.1 cm — a gain of 7.4 cm over 100 years.
- The 14.2 cm gap between men and women is above the typical range.
- Height gains have plateaued since 1976.
All cohorts, 1896–1996
| Cohort | Men (cm) | Women (cm) | Gap (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | 170.7 | 157.6 | 13.1 |
| 1897 | 170.8 | 157.7 | 13.1 |
| 1898 | 170.8 | 157.8 | 13.0 |
| 1899 | 170.9 | 157.8 | 13.1 |
| 1900 | 171.0 | 157.9 | 13.1 |
| 1901 | 171.0 | 158.0 | 13.0 |
| 1902 | 171.1 | 158.1 | 13.0 |
| 1903 | 171.1 | 158.1 | 13.0 |
| 1904 | 171.2 | 158.2 | 13.0 |
| 1905 | 171.3 | 158.3 | 13.0 |
| 1906 | 171.3 | 158.3 | 13.0 |
| 1907 | 171.4 | 158.4 | 13.0 |
| 1908 | 171.5 | 158.5 | 13.0 |
| 1909 | 171.5 | 158.6 | 12.9 |
| 1910 | 171.6 | 158.6 | 13.0 |
| 1911 | 171.7 | 158.7 | 13.0 |
| 1912 | 171.7 | 158.8 | 12.9 |
| 1913 | 171.8 | 158.9 | 12.9 |
| 1914 | 171.9 | 159.0 | 12.9 |
| 1915 | 172.0 | 159.1 | 12.9 |
| 1916 | 172.1 | 159.2 | 12.9 |
| 1917 | 172.2 | 159.3 | 12.9 |
| 1918 | 172.3 | 159.4 | 12.9 |
| 1919 | 172.4 | 159.6 | 12.8 |
| 1920 | 172.5 | 159.7 | 12.8 |
| 1921 | 172.6 | 159.8 | 12.8 |
| 1922 | 172.7 | 159.9 | 12.8 |
| 1923 | 172.8 | 160.0 | 12.8 |
| 1924 | 172.9 | 160.1 | 12.8 |
| 1925 | 173.0 | 160.2 | 12.8 |
| 1926 | 173.1 | 160.3 | 12.8 |
| 1927 | 173.2 | 160.5 | 12.7 |
| 1928 | 173.3 | 160.6 | 12.7 |
| 1929 | 173.4 | 160.7 | 12.7 |
| 1930 | 173.5 | 160.8 | 12.7 |
| 1931 | 173.7 | 160.9 | 12.8 |
| 1932 | 173.7 | 161.0 | 12.7 |
| 1933 | 173.8 | 161.1 | 12.7 |
| 1934 | 173.9 | 161.2 | 12.7 |
| 1935 | 174.0 | 161.3 | 12.7 |
| 1936 | 174.1 | 161.4 | 12.7 |
| 1937 | 174.2 | 161.5 | 12.7 |
| 1938 | 174.3 | 161.6 | 12.7 |
| 1939 | 174.4 | 161.6 | 12.8 |
| 1940 | 174.5 | 161.7 | 12.8 |
| 1941 | 174.6 | 161.8 | 12.8 |
| 1942 | 174.6 | 161.8 | 12.8 |
| 1943 | 174.7 | 161.8 | 12.9 |
| 1944 | 174.8 | 161.9 | 12.9 |
| 1945 | 174.8 | 161.9 | 12.9 |
| 1946 | 174.9 | 161.9 | 13.0 |
| 1947 | 175.0 | 161.9 | 13.1 |
| 1948 | 175.0 | 162.0 | 13.0 |
| 1949 | 175.1 | 162.0 | 13.1 |
| 1950 | 175.1 | 162.0 | 13.1 |
| 1951 | 175.2 | 162.1 | 13.1 |
| 1952 | 175.2 | 162.1 | 13.1 |
| 1953 | 175.3 | 162.1 | 13.2 |
| 1954 | 175.4 | 162.2 | 13.2 |
| 1955 | 175.4 | 162.2 | 13.2 |
| 1956 | 175.5 | 162.3 | 13.2 |
| 1957 | 175.5 | 162.3 | 13.2 |
| 1958 | 175.6 | 162.4 | 13.2 |
| 1959 | 175.7 | 162.5 | 13.2 |
| 1960 | 175.7 | 162.5 | 13.2 |
| 1961 | 175.8 | 162.6 | 13.2 |
| 1962 | 175.9 | 162.7 | 13.2 |
| 1963 | 175.9 | 162.7 | 13.2 |
| 1964 | 176.0 | 162.8 | 13.2 |
| 1965 | 176.1 | 162.9 | 13.2 |
| 1966 | 176.2 | 162.9 | 13.3 |
| 1967 | 176.3 | 163.0 | 13.3 |
| 1968 | 176.3 | 163.0 | 13.3 |
| 1969 | 176.4 | 163.0 | 13.4 |
| 1970 | 176.5 | 163.1 | 13.4 |
| 1971 | 176.6 | 163.1 | 13.5 |
| 1972 | 176.7 | 163.2 | 13.5 |
| 1973 | 176.8 | 163.2 | 13.6 |
| 1974 | 176.9 | 163.2 | 13.7 |
| 1975 | 177.0 | 163.2 | 13.8 |
| 1976 | 177.1 | 163.3 | 13.8 |
| 1977 | 177.2 | 163.3 | 13.9 |
| 1978 | 177.3 | 163.3 | 14.0 |
| 1979 | 177.4 | 163.3 | 14.1 |
| 1980 | 177.4 | 163.3 | 14.1 |
| 1981 | 177.5 | 163.4 | 14.1 |
| 1982 | 177.5 | 163.4 | 14.1 |
| 1983 | 177.6 | 163.4 | 14.2 |
| 1984 | 177.7 | 163.5 | 14.2 |
| 1985 | 177.7 | 163.5 | 14.2 |
| 1986 | 177.7 | 163.5 | 14.2 |
| 1987 | 177.8 | 163.6 | 14.2 |
| 1988 | 177.8 | 163.6 | 14.2 |
| 1989 | 177.9 | 163.7 | 14.2 |
| 1990 | 177.9 | 163.7 | 14.2 |
| 1991 | 177.9 | 163.7 | 14.2 |
| 1992 | 178.0 | 163.8 | 14.2 |
| 1993 | 178.0 | 163.8 | 14.2 |
| 1994 | 178.0 | 163.8 | 14.2 |
| 1995 | 178.1 | 163.9 | 14.2 |
| 1996 | 178.1 | 163.9 | 14.2 |
Explore by sex and age
Notable people from Canada with known heights
Lester B. Pearson
188 cm · 6'2"
b. 1897
George A. Romero
194 cm · 6'4"
b. 1940
Leonard Cohen
175 cm · 5'9"
b. 1934
Pierre Trudeau
172 cm · 5'8"
b. 1919
Justin Trudeau
188 cm · 6'2"
b. 1971
David Cronenberg
175 cm · 5'9"
b. 1943
Céline Dion
170 cm · 5'7"
b. 1968
Lara Fabian
163 cm · 5'4"
b. 1970
Christopher Plummer
178 cm · 5'10"
b. 1929
Stephen Harper
188 cm · 6'2"
b. 1959
Nina Dobrev
170 cm · 5'7"
b. 1989
Brie Larson
170 cm · 5'7"
b. 1989
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.