Average Height
Average Height in Germany
Men: 179.9 cm·Women: 165.9 cm
Men · 1996
179.9 cm
Women · 1996
165.9 cm
Men · 1896 baseline
167.2 cm
Women · 1896 baseline
156.0 cm
Men world rank:#11Women world rank:#14
Height trend across birth cohorts
Insights
Between 1896 and 1996, the mean adult male height in Germany rose from 167.2 cm to 179.9 cm — a gain of 12.7 cm over 100 years.
- The 14.0 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 | 167.2 | 156.0 | 11.2 |
| 1897 | 167.3 | 156.1 | 11.2 |
| 1898 | 167.4 | 156.3 | 11.1 |
| 1899 | 167.6 | 156.4 | 11.2 |
| 1900 | 167.7 | 156.6 | 11.1 |
| 1901 | 167.9 | 156.7 | 11.2 |
| 1902 | 168.0 | 156.9 | 11.1 |
| 1903 | 168.1 | 157.0 | 11.1 |
| 1904 | 168.3 | 157.1 | 11.2 |
| 1905 | 168.4 | 157.3 | 11.1 |
| 1906 | 168.6 | 157.4 | 11.2 |
| 1907 | 168.7 | 157.6 | 11.1 |
| 1908 | 168.9 | 157.7 | 11.2 |
| 1909 | 169.0 | 157.8 | 11.2 |
| 1910 | 169.2 | 158.0 | 11.2 |
| 1911 | 169.3 | 158.1 | 11.2 |
| 1912 | 169.5 | 158.3 | 11.2 |
| 1913 | 169.6 | 158.5 | 11.1 |
| 1914 | 169.8 | 158.6 | 11.2 |
| 1915 | 170.0 | 158.8 | 11.2 |
| 1916 | 170.2 | 159.0 | 11.2 |
| 1917 | 170.3 | 159.1 | 11.2 |
| 1918 | 170.5 | 159.3 | 11.2 |
| 1919 | 170.7 | 159.5 | 11.2 |
| 1920 | 170.8 | 159.6 | 11.2 |
| 1921 | 171.0 | 159.8 | 11.2 |
| 1922 | 171.2 | 160.0 | 11.2 |
| 1923 | 171.3 | 160.1 | 11.2 |
| 1924 | 171.5 | 160.3 | 11.2 |
| 1925 | 171.6 | 160.4 | 11.2 |
| 1926 | 171.8 | 160.6 | 11.2 |
| 1927 | 172.0 | 160.8 | 11.2 |
| 1928 | 172.1 | 160.9 | 11.2 |
| 1929 | 172.3 | 161.1 | 11.2 |
| 1930 | 172.5 | 161.2 | 11.3 |
| 1931 | 172.7 | 161.4 | 11.3 |
| 1932 | 172.9 | 161.6 | 11.3 |
| 1933 | 173.1 | 161.7 | 11.4 |
| 1934 | 173.3 | 161.9 | 11.4 |
| 1935 | 173.5 | 162.1 | 11.4 |
| 1936 | 173.7 | 162.2 | 11.5 |
| 1937 | 174.0 | 162.4 | 11.6 |
| 1938 | 174.2 | 162.5 | 11.7 |
| 1939 | 174.3 | 162.7 | 11.6 |
| 1940 | 174.5 | 162.8 | 11.7 |
| 1941 | 174.7 | 162.9 | 11.8 |
| 1942 | 174.8 | 163.0 | 11.8 |
| 1943 | 175.0 | 163.1 | 11.9 |
| 1944 | 175.1 | 163.2 | 11.9 |
| 1945 | 175.3 | 163.2 | 12.1 |
| 1946 | 175.4 | 163.3 | 12.1 |
| 1947 | 175.6 | 163.4 | 12.2 |
| 1948 | 175.8 | 163.4 | 12.4 |
| 1949 | 175.9 | 163.5 | 12.4 |
| 1950 | 176.1 | 163.6 | 12.5 |
| 1951 | 176.2 | 163.7 | 12.5 |
| 1952 | 176.4 | 163.8 | 12.6 |
| 1953 | 176.6 | 163.9 | 12.7 |
| 1954 | 176.7 | 164.1 | 12.6 |
| 1955 | 176.9 | 164.2 | 12.7 |
| 1956 | 177.1 | 164.3 | 12.8 |
| 1957 | 177.2 | 164.5 | 12.7 |
| 1958 | 177.4 | 164.6 | 12.8 |
| 1959 | 177.6 | 164.8 | 12.8 |
| 1960 | 177.7 | 165.0 | 12.7 |
| 1961 | 177.9 | 165.1 | 12.8 |
| 1962 | 178.0 | 165.3 | 12.7 |
| 1963 | 178.1 | 165.4 | 12.7 |
| 1964 | 178.3 | 165.6 | 12.7 |
| 1965 | 178.4 | 165.7 | 12.7 |
| 1966 | 178.5 | 165.8 | 12.7 |
| 1967 | 178.6 | 165.9 | 12.7 |
| 1968 | 178.7 | 166.0 | 12.7 |
| 1969 | 178.8 | 166.1 | 12.7 |
| 1970 | 178.9 | 166.1 | 12.8 |
| 1971 | 179.0 | 166.2 | 12.8 |
| 1972 | 179.0 | 166.2 | 12.8 |
| 1973 | 179.1 | 166.2 | 12.9 |
| 1974 | 179.2 | 166.3 | 12.9 |
| 1975 | 179.3 | 166.3 | 13.0 |
| 1976 | 179.3 | 166.3 | 13.0 |
| 1977 | 179.4 | 166.3 | 13.1 |
| 1978 | 179.4 | 166.3 | 13.1 |
| 1979 | 179.4 | 166.2 | 13.2 |
| 1980 | 179.5 | 166.2 | 13.3 |
| 1981 | 179.5 | 166.2 | 13.3 |
| 1982 | 179.5 | 166.2 | 13.3 |
| 1983 | 179.6 | 166.2 | 13.4 |
| 1984 | 179.6 | 166.1 | 13.5 |
| 1985 | 179.6 | 166.1 | 13.5 |
| 1986 | 179.7 | 166.1 | 13.6 |
| 1987 | 179.7 | 166.1 | 13.6 |
| 1988 | 179.7 | 166.1 | 13.6 |
| 1989 | 179.7 | 166.0 | 13.7 |
| 1990 | 179.7 | 166.0 | 13.7 |
| 1991 | 179.8 | 166.0 | 13.8 |
| 1992 | 179.8 | 166.0 | 13.8 |
| 1993 | 179.8 | 165.9 | 13.9 |
| 1994 | 179.8 | 165.9 | 13.9 |
| 1995 | 179.9 | 165.9 | 14.0 |
| 1996 | 179.9 | 165.9 | 14.0 |
Explore by sex and age
Notable people from Germany with known heights
Henry Kissinger
173 cm · 5'8"
b. 1923
Helmut Kohl
195 cm · 6'5"
b. 1930
Angela Merkel
167 cm · 5'6"
b. 1954
Franz Beckenbauer
181 cm · 5'11"
b. 1945
Gerd Müller
176 cm · 5'9"
b. 1945
Marlene Dietrich
168 cm · 5'6"
b. 1901
Hermann Göring
178 cm · 5'10"
b. 1893
Joseph Goebbels
165 cm · 5'5"
b. 1897
Joachim Löw
182 cm · 6'0"
b. 1960
Jürgen Klopp
191 cm · 6'3"
b. 1967
Philipp Lahm
170 cm · 5'7"
b. 1983
Steffi Graf
176 cm · 5'9"
b. 1969
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.