Average Height
Average Height in Sweden
Men: 179.7 cm·Women: 165.7 cm
Men · 1996
179.7 cm
Women · 1996
165.7 cm
Men · 1896 baseline
171.9 cm
Women · 1896 baseline
160.3 cm
Men world rank:#15Women world rank:#17
Height trend across birth cohorts
Insights
Between 1896 and 1996, the mean adult male height in Sweden rose from 171.9 cm to 179.7 cm — a gain of 7.8 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 | 171.9 | 160.3 | 11.6 |
| 1897 | 172.0 | 160.4 | 11.6 |
| 1898 | 172.1 | 160.5 | 11.6 |
| 1899 | 172.2 | 160.5 | 11.7 |
| 1900 | 172.3 | 160.6 | 11.7 |
| 1901 | 172.4 | 160.7 | 11.7 |
| 1902 | 172.5 | 160.8 | 11.7 |
| 1903 | 172.6 | 160.9 | 11.7 |
| 1904 | 172.8 | 160.9 | 11.9 |
| 1905 | 172.9 | 161.0 | 11.9 |
| 1906 | 173.0 | 161.1 | 11.9 |
| 1907 | 173.1 | 161.2 | 11.9 |
| 1908 | 173.2 | 161.2 | 12.0 |
| 1909 | 173.3 | 161.3 | 12.0 |
| 1910 | 173.4 | 161.4 | 12.0 |
| 1911 | 173.5 | 161.5 | 12.0 |
| 1912 | 173.6 | 161.6 | 12.0 |
| 1913 | 173.8 | 161.7 | 12.1 |
| 1914 | 173.9 | 161.8 | 12.1 |
| 1915 | 174.0 | 161.9 | 12.1 |
| 1916 | 174.2 | 162.0 | 12.2 |
| 1917 | 174.3 | 162.1 | 12.2 |
| 1918 | 174.4 | 162.2 | 12.2 |
| 1919 | 174.5 | 162.3 | 12.2 |
| 1920 | 174.6 | 162.4 | 12.2 |
| 1921 | 174.7 | 162.5 | 12.2 |
| 1922 | 174.9 | 162.6 | 12.3 |
| 1923 | 175.0 | 162.7 | 12.3 |
| 1924 | 175.0 | 162.8 | 12.2 |
| 1925 | 175.1 | 162.9 | 12.2 |
| 1926 | 175.2 | 163.0 | 12.2 |
| 1927 | 175.3 | 163.1 | 12.2 |
| 1928 | 175.4 | 163.2 | 12.2 |
| 1929 | 175.6 | 163.3 | 12.3 |
| 1930 | 175.7 | 163.4 | 12.3 |
| 1931 | 175.8 | 163.5 | 12.3 |
| 1932 | 175.9 | 163.6 | 12.3 |
| 1933 | 176.1 | 163.7 | 12.4 |
| 1934 | 176.2 | 163.8 | 12.4 |
| 1935 | 176.3 | 164.0 | 12.3 |
| 1936 | 176.5 | 164.1 | 12.4 |
| 1937 | 176.6 | 164.2 | 12.4 |
| 1938 | 176.8 | 164.4 | 12.4 |
| 1939 | 176.9 | 164.5 | 12.4 |
| 1940 | 177.0 | 164.6 | 12.4 |
| 1941 | 177.1 | 164.7 | 12.4 |
| 1942 | 177.3 | 164.8 | 12.5 |
| 1943 | 177.4 | 164.8 | 12.6 |
| 1944 | 177.5 | 164.9 | 12.6 |
| 1945 | 177.6 | 165.0 | 12.6 |
| 1946 | 177.8 | 165.0 | 12.8 |
| 1947 | 177.9 | 165.1 | 12.8 |
| 1948 | 178.0 | 165.2 | 12.8 |
| 1949 | 178.2 | 165.2 | 13.0 |
| 1950 | 178.3 | 165.3 | 13.0 |
| 1951 | 178.4 | 165.4 | 13.0 |
| 1952 | 178.6 | 165.4 | 13.2 |
| 1953 | 178.7 | 165.5 | 13.2 |
| 1954 | 178.8 | 165.6 | 13.2 |
| 1955 | 178.9 | 165.7 | 13.2 |
| 1956 | 179.0 | 165.8 | 13.2 |
| 1957 | 179.1 | 165.8 | 13.3 |
| 1958 | 179.2 | 165.9 | 13.3 |
| 1959 | 179.4 | 166.0 | 13.4 |
| 1960 | 179.4 | 166.1 | 13.3 |
| 1961 | 179.5 | 166.2 | 13.3 |
| 1962 | 179.6 | 166.3 | 13.3 |
| 1963 | 179.7 | 166.4 | 13.3 |
| 1964 | 179.7 | 166.4 | 13.3 |
| 1965 | 179.8 | 166.5 | 13.3 |
| 1966 | 179.8 | 166.6 | 13.2 |
| 1967 | 179.9 | 166.6 | 13.3 |
| 1968 | 179.9 | 166.6 | 13.3 |
| 1969 | 179.9 | 166.7 | 13.2 |
| 1970 | 179.9 | 166.7 | 13.2 |
| 1971 | 180.0 | 166.7 | 13.3 |
| 1972 | 180.0 | 166.7 | 13.3 |
| 1973 | 180.0 | 166.7 | 13.3 |
| 1974 | 180.0 | 166.7 | 13.3 |
| 1975 | 180.0 | 166.6 | 13.4 |
| 1976 | 180.0 | 166.6 | 13.4 |
| 1977 | 180.0 | 166.6 | 13.4 |
| 1978 | 180.0 | 166.5 | 13.5 |
| 1979 | 180.0 | 166.5 | 13.5 |
| 1980 | 180.0 | 166.4 | 13.6 |
| 1981 | 180.0 | 166.4 | 13.6 |
| 1982 | 180.0 | 166.3 | 13.7 |
| 1983 | 180.0 | 166.3 | 13.7 |
| 1984 | 180.0 | 166.2 | 13.8 |
| 1985 | 180.0 | 166.2 | 13.8 |
| 1986 | 179.9 | 166.2 | 13.7 |
| 1987 | 179.9 | 166.1 | 13.8 |
| 1988 | 179.9 | 166.1 | 13.8 |
| 1989 | 179.9 | 166.0 | 13.9 |
| 1990 | 179.9 | 166.0 | 13.9 |
| 1991 | 179.8 | 165.9 | 13.9 |
| 1992 | 179.8 | 165.9 | 13.9 |
| 1993 | 179.8 | 165.8 | 14.0 |
| 1994 | 179.8 | 165.8 | 14.0 |
| 1995 | 179.8 | 165.7 | 14.1 |
| 1996 | 179.7 | 165.7 | 14.0 |
Explore by sex and age
Notable people from Sweden with known heights
Marta
162 cm · 5'4"
b. 1986
Carl XII of Sweden
176 cm · 5'9"
b. 1682
Stellan Skarsgård
191 cm · 6'3"
b. 1951
Zara Larsson
163 cm · 5'4"
b. 1997
Ingrid Bergman
175 cm · 5'9"
b. 1915
Freddie Ljungberg
175 cm · 5'9"
b. 1977
Henrik Larsson
177 cm · 5'10"
b. 1971
Zlatan Ibrahimović
195 cm · 6'5"
b. 1981
Björn Borg
180 cm · 5'11"
b. 1956
Roony Bardghji
173 cm · 5'8"
b. 2005
Abeba Aregawi
170 cm · 5'7"
b. 1990
PewDiePie
178 cm · 5'10"
b. 1989
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.