Average Height
Average Height in Sierra Leone
Men: 164.4 cm·Women: 156.6 cm
Men · 1996
164.4 cm
Women · 1996
156.6 cm
Men · 1896 baseline
160.6 cm
Women · 1896 baseline
152.4 cm
Men world rank:#174Women world rank:#139
Height trend across birth cohorts
Insights
Between 1896 and 1996, the mean adult male height in Sierra Leone rose from 160.6 cm to 164.4 cm — a gain of 3.8 cm over 100 years.
- The 7.8 cm gap between men and women is below the typical range.
- 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 | 160.6 | 152.4 | 8.2 |
| 1897 | 160.6 | 152.5 | 8.1 |
| 1898 | 160.7 | 152.6 | 8.1 |
| 1899 | 160.8 | 152.7 | 8.1 |
| 1900 | 160.9 | 152.8 | 8.1 |
| 1901 | 161.0 | 152.9 | 8.1 |
| 1902 | 161.1 | 153.0 | 8.1 |
| 1903 | 161.2 | 153.1 | 8.1 |
| 1904 | 161.3 | 153.2 | 8.1 |
| 1905 | 161.4 | 153.3 | 8.1 |
| 1906 | 161.5 | 153.4 | 8.1 |
| 1907 | 161.6 | 153.4 | 8.2 |
| 1908 | 161.7 | 153.5 | 8.2 |
| 1909 | 161.8 | 153.6 | 8.2 |
| 1910 | 161.9 | 153.7 | 8.2 |
| 1911 | 162.0 | 153.8 | 8.2 |
| 1912 | 162.1 | 153.9 | 8.2 |
| 1913 | 162.2 | 154.0 | 8.2 |
| 1914 | 162.3 | 154.1 | 8.2 |
| 1915 | 162.4 | 154.2 | 8.2 |
| 1916 | 162.5 | 154.2 | 8.3 |
| 1917 | 162.6 | 154.3 | 8.3 |
| 1918 | 162.7 | 154.4 | 8.3 |
| 1919 | 162.8 | 154.5 | 8.3 |
| 1920 | 162.9 | 154.6 | 8.3 |
| 1921 | 163.0 | 154.7 | 8.3 |
| 1922 | 163.1 | 154.8 | 8.3 |
| 1923 | 163.2 | 154.9 | 8.3 |
| 1924 | 163.3 | 155.0 | 8.3 |
| 1925 | 163.5 | 155.1 | 8.4 |
| 1926 | 163.6 | 155.2 | 8.4 |
| 1927 | 163.7 | 155.3 | 8.4 |
| 1928 | 163.8 | 155.4 | 8.4 |
| 1929 | 163.9 | 155.5 | 8.4 |
| 1930 | 164.1 | 155.6 | 8.5 |
| 1931 | 164.2 | 155.7 | 8.5 |
| 1932 | 164.4 | 155.8 | 8.6 |
| 1933 | 164.5 | 155.9 | 8.6 |
| 1934 | 164.6 | 156.0 | 8.6 |
| 1935 | 164.8 | 156.1 | 8.7 |
| 1936 | 164.9 | 156.3 | 8.6 |
| 1937 | 165.1 | 156.4 | 8.7 |
| 1938 | 165.2 | 156.5 | 8.7 |
| 1939 | 165.3 | 156.6 | 8.7 |
| 1940 | 165.5 | 156.7 | 8.8 |
| 1941 | 165.6 | 156.9 | 8.7 |
| 1942 | 165.7 | 157.0 | 8.7 |
| 1943 | 165.9 | 157.1 | 8.8 |
| 1944 | 166.0 | 157.2 | 8.8 |
| 1945 | 166.1 | 157.4 | 8.7 |
| 1946 | 166.3 | 157.5 | 8.8 |
| 1947 | 166.4 | 157.6 | 8.8 |
| 1948 | 166.5 | 157.7 | 8.8 |
| 1949 | 166.6 | 157.8 | 8.8 |
| 1950 | 166.8 | 157.9 | 8.9 |
| 1951 | 166.9 | 158.0 | 8.9 |
| 1952 | 167.0 | 158.1 | 8.9 |
| 1953 | 167.1 | 158.2 | 8.9 |
| 1954 | 167.2 | 158.3 | 8.9 |
| 1955 | 167.3 | 158.3 | 9.0 |
| 1956 | 167.4 | 158.4 | 9.0 |
| 1957 | 167.4 | 158.4 | 9.0 |
| 1958 | 167.5 | 158.5 | 9.0 |
| 1959 | 167.6 | 158.5 | 9.1 |
| 1960 | 167.6 | 158.5 | 9.1 |
| 1961 | 167.7 | 158.5 | 9.2 |
| 1962 | 167.7 | 158.6 | 9.1 |
| 1963 | 167.7 | 158.6 | 9.1 |
| 1964 | 167.8 | 158.6 | 9.2 |
| 1965 | 167.8 | 158.5 | 9.3 |
| 1966 | 167.8 | 158.5 | 9.3 |
| 1967 | 167.7 | 158.5 | 9.2 |
| 1968 | 167.7 | 158.5 | 9.2 |
| 1969 | 167.7 | 158.4 | 9.3 |
| 1970 | 167.7 | 158.4 | 9.3 |
| 1971 | 167.6 | 158.4 | 9.2 |
| 1972 | 167.6 | 158.3 | 9.3 |
| 1973 | 167.6 | 158.3 | 9.3 |
| 1974 | 167.5 | 158.2 | 9.3 |
| 1975 | 167.5 | 158.1 | 9.4 |
| 1976 | 167.4 | 158.1 | 9.3 |
| 1977 | 167.4 | 158.0 | 9.4 |
| 1978 | 167.3 | 157.9 | 9.4 |
| 1979 | 167.2 | 157.9 | 9.3 |
| 1980 | 167.2 | 157.8 | 9.4 |
| 1981 | 167.1 | 157.7 | 9.4 |
| 1982 | 166.9 | 157.6 | 9.3 |
| 1983 | 166.8 | 157.6 | 9.2 |
| 1984 | 166.7 | 157.5 | 9.2 |
| 1985 | 166.5 | 157.4 | 9.1 |
| 1986 | 166.4 | 157.3 | 9.1 |
| 1987 | 166.2 | 157.3 | 8.9 |
| 1988 | 166.0 | 157.2 | 8.8 |
| 1989 | 165.8 | 157.1 | 8.7 |
| 1990 | 165.6 | 157.0 | 8.6 |
| 1991 | 165.4 | 157.0 | 8.4 |
| 1992 | 165.2 | 156.9 | 8.3 |
| 1993 | 165.0 | 156.8 | 8.2 |
| 1994 | 164.8 | 156.7 | 8.1 |
| 1995 | 164.6 | 156.7 | 7.9 |
| 1996 | 164.4 | 156.6 | 7.8 |
Explore by sex and age
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.