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Average Height

Average Height of a Man in North Korea

172.0 cmb. 1996 cohort

Male height trend, 1896–1996

Mean adult height trendMean adult height in North Korea by birth cohort, 1896–1996, in centimetres.160165170190019201940196019801996Birth YearHeight (cm)172.0 cmMale

Insights

Between 1896 and 1996, the mean adult male height in North Korea rose from 160.6 cm to 172.0 cm — a gain of 11.4 cm over 100 years.

All cohorts, 1896–1996

CohortMen (cm)
1896160.6
1897160.7
1898160.8
1899160.9
1900161.1
1901161.2
1902161.3
1903161.4
1904161.5
1905161.6
1906161.8
1907161.9
1908162.0
1909162.1
1910162.2
1911162.3
1912162.5
1913162.6
1914162.7
1915162.8
1916162.9
1917163.0
1918163.2
1919163.3
1920163.4
1921163.5
1922163.6
1923163.7
1924163.8
1925163.9
1926164.0
1927164.1
1928164.2
1929164.3
1930164.4
1931164.5
1932164.6
1933164.7
1934164.8
1935164.9
1936165.0
1937165.1
1938165.2
1939165.3
1940165.4
1941165.5
1942165.6
1943165.7
1944165.8
1945165.9
1946166.1
1947166.2
1948166.3
1949166.5
1950166.6
1951166.8
1952166.9
1953167.0
1954167.2
1955167.3
1956167.5
1957167.6
1958167.7
1959167.8
1960168.0
1961168.1
1962168.2
1963168.3
1964168.4
1965168.5
1966168.6
1967168.7
1968168.8
1969168.9
1970169.0
1971169.1
1972169.2
1973169.3
1974169.4
1975169.5
1976169.7
1977169.8
1978169.9
1979170.0
1980170.2
1981170.3
1982170.4
1983170.6
1984170.7
1985170.8
1986170.9
1987171.0
1988171.2
1989171.3
1990171.4
1991171.5
1992171.6
1993171.7
1994171.8
1995171.9
1996172.0

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.