Average Height
Average Height in China
Men: 171.8 cm·Women: 159.7 cm
Men · 1996
171.8 cm
Women · 1996
159.7 cm
Men · 1896 baseline
161.0 cm
Women · 1896 baseline
150.2 cm
Men world rank:#86Women world rank:#82
Height trend across birth cohorts
Insights
Between 1896 and 1996, the mean adult male height in China rose from 161.0 cm to 171.8 cm — a gain of 10.8 cm over 100 years.
All cohorts, 1896–1996
| Cohort | Men (cm) | Women (cm) | Gap (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | 161.0 | 150.2 | 10.8 |
| 1897 | 161.1 | 150.3 | 10.8 |
| 1898 | 161.3 | 150.4 | 10.9 |
| 1899 | 161.4 | 150.5 | 10.9 |
| 1900 | 161.6 | 150.6 | 11.0 |
| 1901 | 161.7 | 150.7 | 11.0 |
| 1902 | 161.9 | 150.8 | 11.1 |
| 1903 | 162.0 | 150.9 | 11.1 |
| 1904 | 162.2 | 151.0 | 11.2 |
| 1905 | 162.3 | 151.1 | 11.2 |
| 1906 | 162.5 | 151.3 | 11.2 |
| 1907 | 162.6 | 151.4 | 11.2 |
| 1908 | 162.8 | 151.5 | 11.3 |
| 1909 | 162.9 | 151.6 | 11.3 |
| 1910 | 163.0 | 151.6 | 11.4 |
| 1911 | 163.2 | 151.7 | 11.5 |
| 1912 | 163.3 | 151.8 | 11.5 |
| 1913 | 163.5 | 151.9 | 11.6 |
| 1914 | 163.6 | 152.0 | 11.6 |
| 1915 | 163.7 | 152.1 | 11.6 |
| 1916 | 163.9 | 152.2 | 11.7 |
| 1917 | 164.0 | 152.4 | 11.6 |
| 1918 | 164.1 | 152.5 | 11.6 |
| 1919 | 164.3 | 152.6 | 11.7 |
| 1920 | 164.4 | 152.7 | 11.7 |
| 1921 | 164.5 | 152.8 | 11.7 |
| 1922 | 164.6 | 153.0 | 11.6 |
| 1923 | 164.7 | 153.1 | 11.6 |
| 1924 | 164.8 | 153.3 | 11.5 |
| 1925 | 164.9 | 153.4 | 11.5 |
| 1926 | 165.0 | 153.6 | 11.4 |
| 1927 | 165.1 | 153.7 | 11.4 |
| 1928 | 165.2 | 153.9 | 11.3 |
| 1929 | 165.4 | 154.1 | 11.3 |
| 1930 | 165.5 | 154.2 | 11.3 |
| 1931 | 165.6 | 154.4 | 11.2 |
| 1932 | 165.7 | 154.5 | 11.2 |
| 1933 | 165.8 | 154.7 | 11.1 |
| 1934 | 165.8 | 154.8 | 11.0 |
| 1935 | 165.9 | 155.0 | 10.9 |
| 1936 | 166.0 | 155.1 | 10.9 |
| 1937 | 166.1 | 155.3 | 10.8 |
| 1938 | 166.2 | 155.4 | 10.8 |
| 1939 | 166.3 | 155.5 | 10.8 |
| 1940 | 166.4 | 155.7 | 10.7 |
| 1941 | 166.5 | 155.8 | 10.7 |
| 1942 | 166.6 | 155.9 | 10.7 |
| 1943 | 166.7 | 156.0 | 10.7 |
| 1944 | 166.7 | 156.1 | 10.6 |
| 1945 | 166.8 | 156.2 | 10.6 |
| 1946 | 166.9 | 156.3 | 10.6 |
| 1947 | 167.1 | 156.4 | 10.7 |
| 1948 | 167.2 | 156.6 | 10.6 |
| 1949 | 167.3 | 156.7 | 10.6 |
| 1950 | 167.4 | 156.8 | 10.6 |
| 1951 | 167.5 | 156.9 | 10.6 |
| 1952 | 167.6 | 157.0 | 10.6 |
| 1953 | 167.7 | 157.1 | 10.6 |
| 1954 | 167.8 | 157.1 | 10.7 |
| 1955 | 167.9 | 157.2 | 10.7 |
| 1956 | 168.0 | 157.3 | 10.7 |
| 1957 | 168.1 | 157.4 | 10.7 |
| 1958 | 168.2 | 157.4 | 10.8 |
| 1959 | 168.3 | 157.5 | 10.8 |
| 1960 | 168.3 | 157.5 | 10.8 |
| 1961 | 168.4 | 157.6 | 10.8 |
| 1962 | 168.4 | 157.6 | 10.8 |
| 1963 | 168.5 | 157.7 | 10.8 |
| 1964 | 168.5 | 157.7 | 10.8 |
| 1965 | 168.6 | 157.8 | 10.8 |
| 1966 | 168.6 | 157.8 | 10.8 |
| 1967 | 168.6 | 157.9 | 10.7 |
| 1968 | 168.7 | 157.9 | 10.8 |
| 1969 | 168.7 | 157.9 | 10.8 |
| 1970 | 168.7 | 158.0 | 10.7 |
| 1971 | 168.8 | 158.0 | 10.8 |
| 1972 | 168.9 | 158.1 | 10.8 |
| 1973 | 169.0 | 158.1 | 10.9 |
| 1974 | 169.1 | 158.2 | 10.9 |
| 1975 | 169.2 | 158.2 | 11.0 |
| 1976 | 169.3 | 158.3 | 11.0 |
| 1977 | 169.4 | 158.4 | 11.0 |
| 1978 | 169.5 | 158.4 | 11.1 |
| 1979 | 169.7 | 158.5 | 11.2 |
| 1980 | 169.8 | 158.6 | 11.2 |
| 1981 | 169.9 | 158.6 | 11.3 |
| 1982 | 170.1 | 158.7 | 11.4 |
| 1983 | 170.2 | 158.8 | 11.4 |
| 1984 | 170.4 | 158.8 | 11.6 |
| 1985 | 170.5 | 158.9 | 11.6 |
| 1986 | 170.6 | 159.0 | 11.6 |
| 1987 | 170.8 | 159.1 | 11.7 |
| 1988 | 170.9 | 159.1 | 11.8 |
| 1989 | 171.0 | 159.2 | 11.8 |
| 1990 | 171.1 | 159.3 | 11.8 |
| 1991 | 171.2 | 159.3 | 11.9 |
| 1992 | 171.4 | 159.4 | 12.0 |
| 1993 | 171.5 | 159.5 | 12.0 |
| 1994 | 171.6 | 159.6 | 12.0 |
| 1995 | 171.7 | 159.6 | 12.1 |
| 1996 | 171.8 | 159.7 | 12.1 |
Explore by sex and age
Notable people from China with known heights
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.