Average Height
Average Height in Ethiopia
Men: 166.2 cm·Women: 155.7 cm
Men · 1996
166.2 cm
Women · 1996
155.7 cm
Men · 1896 baseline
161.3 cm
Women · 1896 baseline
152.2 cm
Men world rank:#158Women world rank:#153
Height trend across birth cohorts
Insights
Between 1896 and 1996, the mean adult male height in Ethiopia rose from 161.3 cm to 166.2 cm — a gain of 4.9 cm over 100 years.
- Height gains have plateaued since 1976.
- Mean height has declined in recent birth cohorts.
All cohorts, 1896–1996
| Cohort | Men (cm) | Women (cm) | Gap (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | 161.3 | 152.2 | 9.1 |
| 1897 | 161.4 | 152.3 | 9.1 |
| 1898 | 161.5 | 152.4 | 9.1 |
| 1899 | 161.6 | 152.5 | 9.1 |
| 1900 | 161.7 | 152.6 | 9.1 |
| 1901 | 161.8 | 152.7 | 9.1 |
| 1902 | 161.9 | 152.8 | 9.1 |
| 1903 | 162.0 | 152.9 | 9.1 |
| 1904 | 162.1 | 153.0 | 9.1 |
| 1905 | 162.2 | 153.1 | 9.1 |
| 1906 | 162.3 | 153.2 | 9.1 |
| 1907 | 162.5 | 153.3 | 9.2 |
| 1908 | 162.6 | 153.4 | 9.2 |
| 1909 | 162.7 | 153.5 | 9.2 |
| 1910 | 162.8 | 153.6 | 9.2 |
| 1911 | 162.9 | 153.6 | 9.3 |
| 1912 | 163.0 | 153.7 | 9.3 |
| 1913 | 163.1 | 153.8 | 9.3 |
| 1914 | 163.2 | 153.9 | 9.3 |
| 1915 | 163.4 | 154.0 | 9.4 |
| 1916 | 163.5 | 154.1 | 9.4 |
| 1917 | 163.6 | 154.2 | 9.4 |
| 1918 | 163.7 | 154.3 | 9.4 |
| 1919 | 163.9 | 154.4 | 9.5 |
| 1920 | 164.0 | 154.5 | 9.5 |
| 1921 | 164.1 | 154.6 | 9.5 |
| 1922 | 164.2 | 154.7 | 9.5 |
| 1923 | 164.3 | 154.8 | 9.5 |
| 1924 | 164.5 | 154.9 | 9.6 |
| 1925 | 164.6 | 155.0 | 9.6 |
| 1926 | 164.7 | 155.1 | 9.6 |
| 1927 | 164.8 | 155.2 | 9.6 |
| 1928 | 165.0 | 155.2 | 9.8 |
| 1929 | 165.1 | 155.3 | 9.8 |
| 1930 | 165.3 | 155.4 | 9.9 |
| 1931 | 165.4 | 155.5 | 9.9 |
| 1932 | 165.5 | 155.6 | 9.9 |
| 1933 | 165.7 | 155.7 | 10.0 |
| 1934 | 165.8 | 155.8 | 10.0 |
| 1935 | 166.0 | 155.9 | 10.1 |
| 1936 | 166.1 | 156.0 | 10.1 |
| 1937 | 166.2 | 156.1 | 10.1 |
| 1938 | 166.4 | 156.1 | 10.3 |
| 1939 | 166.5 | 156.2 | 10.3 |
| 1940 | 166.6 | 156.3 | 10.3 |
| 1941 | 166.8 | 156.4 | 10.4 |
| 1942 | 166.9 | 156.5 | 10.4 |
| 1943 | 167.0 | 156.6 | 10.4 |
| 1944 | 167.1 | 156.6 | 10.5 |
| 1945 | 167.3 | 156.7 | 10.6 |
| 1946 | 167.4 | 156.8 | 10.6 |
| 1947 | 167.5 | 156.8 | 10.7 |
| 1948 | 167.6 | 156.9 | 10.7 |
| 1949 | 167.7 | 157.0 | 10.7 |
| 1950 | 167.9 | 157.0 | 10.9 |
| 1951 | 168.0 | 157.1 | 10.9 |
| 1952 | 168.1 | 157.1 | 11.0 |
| 1953 | 168.1 | 157.2 | 10.9 |
| 1954 | 168.2 | 157.2 | 11.0 |
| 1955 | 168.3 | 157.3 | 11.0 |
| 1956 | 168.4 | 157.3 | 11.1 |
| 1957 | 168.5 | 157.3 | 11.2 |
| 1958 | 168.5 | 157.4 | 11.1 |
| 1959 | 168.6 | 157.4 | 11.2 |
| 1960 | 168.7 | 157.4 | 11.3 |
| 1961 | 168.7 | 157.4 | 11.3 |
| 1962 | 168.8 | 157.4 | 11.4 |
| 1963 | 168.8 | 157.4 | 11.4 |
| 1964 | 168.8 | 157.3 | 11.5 |
| 1965 | 168.8 | 157.3 | 11.5 |
| 1966 | 168.8 | 157.3 | 11.5 |
| 1967 | 168.8 | 157.2 | 11.6 |
| 1968 | 168.8 | 157.2 | 11.6 |
| 1969 | 168.8 | 157.2 | 11.6 |
| 1970 | 168.8 | 157.1 | 11.7 |
| 1971 | 168.8 | 157.0 | 11.8 |
| 1972 | 168.8 | 157.0 | 11.8 |
| 1973 | 168.8 | 156.9 | 11.9 |
| 1974 | 168.8 | 156.9 | 11.9 |
| 1975 | 168.8 | 156.8 | 12.0 |
| 1976 | 168.7 | 156.7 | 12.0 |
| 1977 | 168.7 | 156.7 | 12.0 |
| 1978 | 168.7 | 156.6 | 12.1 |
| 1979 | 168.6 | 156.5 | 12.1 |
| 1980 | 168.6 | 156.5 | 12.1 |
| 1981 | 168.5 | 156.4 | 12.1 |
| 1982 | 168.4 | 156.4 | 12.0 |
| 1983 | 168.3 | 156.3 | 12.0 |
| 1984 | 168.2 | 156.3 | 11.9 |
| 1985 | 168.1 | 156.2 | 11.9 |
| 1986 | 168.0 | 156.2 | 11.8 |
| 1987 | 167.8 | 156.1 | 11.7 |
| 1988 | 167.7 | 156.1 | 11.6 |
| 1989 | 167.5 | 156.0 | 11.5 |
| 1990 | 167.3 | 156.0 | 11.3 |
| 1991 | 167.1 | 155.9 | 11.2 |
| 1992 | 167.0 | 155.9 | 11.1 |
| 1993 | 166.8 | 155.8 | 11.0 |
| 1994 | 166.6 | 155.8 | 10.8 |
| 1995 | 166.4 | 155.8 | 10.6 |
| 1996 | 166.2 | 155.7 | 10.5 |
Explore by sex and age
Notable people from Ethiopia with known heights
Abebe Bikila
177 cm · 5'10"
b. 1932
Haile Gebrselassie
165 cm · 5'5"
b. 1973
Kenenisa Bekele
165 cm · 5'5"
b. 1982
Tamirat Tola
181 cm · 5'11"
b. 1991
Tirunesh Dibaba
166 cm · 5'5"
b. 1985
Genzebe Dibaba
168 cm · 5'6"
b. 1991
Letesenbet Gidey
168 cm · 5'6"
b. 1998
Gudaf Tsegay
163 cm · 5'4"
b. 1997
Almaz Ayana
166 cm · 5'5"
b. 1991
Meseret Defar
155 cm · 5'1"
b. 1983
Liya Kebede
178 cm · 5'10"
b. 1978
Tigst Assefa
168 cm · 5'6"
b. 1996
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.