Average Male Height

[Sandyroo1000]

What is the average height for men in the UK?

[Anil Kanji]

The Average height for a male is 5'9'' it's hard to believe for some people but most men and woman lie about their height or they wear heels and platform shoes I'm only 5'8'' people call me short but really, I'm only an inch below average give me break joeyjojo very few guys are 6'5'' and over you most not know how tall that really is

[Fergie]

Interesting to note that average has a lot of advantages... All heights and body types have their strong points. Average is best all around. Ever notice that with very few exceptions height only comes from an increase in the length of the long bones? The spine of a 5'6" man is almost the same as that of a 6'5" man. So height usually comes at the cost of symmetry. It's hard to be 7' and have an olympia physique, but its easy at 5'9".

[loobylu]

I would have to agree with the majority that the average male height is around 5'9'' for UK men. But then everyone's smaller than me so what would I know? Being a female who is 6'4" (no you didn't read that wrong!), what I wanna know is where are the 2% of men 6'5" and over hiding?! Certainly not up north where I live! Perhaps a more intriguing question for me is why are the majority of men (tall or small) scared of going out with a woman taller than them? Is it really that important to conform to the norm? Have some guts some of you!!

[fearoffear]

The average height of a man in the world is 5'9''. Not being that short I wouldn't know. If your wondering why Im calling the average short is because Im 14 and Im already 6'3'', and I've gone through only 1 growth spurt, I just turned 14 less than a month ago for those of you wondering, so I wonder how tall I'll be?

[boredatwork]

5'9"/5'10" sounds right to me. It is also the figure I see in most (scientific) studies. I also agree with a lot of the answers above - people do lie about their height. Also, modern footwear is very deceiving. I am 6'1" and bought a pair of shoes once which exaggerated my height to 6'3"! I agree with everything that wombatvvvv says. Although I see a fair amount of guys taller than me in London, I definitely disagree that guys over 6'2" are "dime a dozen". Also, I am asian, and from the statistics I have read so far, everyone in my family would be well over average. Most of the girls are 5'8"/5'9" and the guys are about 6'0" - (without shoes). I think the lesser height stats apply to the older asians. Anyway, height is not the most important thing about a person. Be nice! I have a lot of back problems because of my height even at just 6'1".

[the_sam]

American here. The average height in my country is 5'9 for men (5'10 for non-Hispanic Caucasian men). It's been that way for around 40 years. In the earlier half the century, the average height increased by about an inch every 20 years. This is no longer the case, however; the growth of most Americans has hit a ceiling. The reason for this, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, is that while good nutrition helps make the most of your genetic potential, it can't change your actual genetic makeup. Growth continues in immigrant communities, who haven't been as well-nourished as most Americans. Britons are more closely related to Northern Europeans, meaning that Britons probably have the potential to grow taller than Americans. So, it's faulty to assume that people just continue getting taller indefinitely with each generation. There is a limit to how tall human beings can get, which varies to a certain degree with ethnicity. As other posters have noted, people tend to exaggerate their height. I'm 5'8, and have seen more than one guy shorter than me claim to be 5'11. 6'5 men are hardly "a dime a dozen", at least in the U.S. 50 percent of American men are between 5'8 and 6'0. Only 25 percent are over 6'0. I also think that the popularity of professional sports has something to do with this misconception of height. The average (American) football player or basketball player is of above average height. Being exposed to sports statistics for much of their lives, many men come to view a height of, say, 6'2 as "normal".

[arfkin]

I just wanted to add to the_sam's point about misconceptions of height. People tend to notice above-average height people more so than average height ones. For instance, when stepping into a crowded room your eyes are naturally drawn to the few tall people sprouting up here and there. When walking down the street your attention will be grabbed by the few tallies who happen to stroll past. All the while, you're overlooking all the average height people that surround you daily because there's nothing unusual about them to catch your attention. After all, they're "just" average. Then when you're asked about how tall you think people are you immediately think of all the tall people you saw in the last week. You forget the fact that for each tall person you saw there were also 30 average height people who were in the vicinity. Hey "loobylu", I'm 5'8'' but I'll date a 6'4'' woman anyday! ;-)

[Robert D]

According to a special on the discovery channel the average height of a homo sapien caveman 30,000 years ago was 1.68m (5'6'') now it's around 5'9' 5'10''' a mere 3 or 4 inches doesn't sound like a significant change in the last 30,000 years to me

[Pete_Black]

I understand what you mean loobylu but I have a question to why do the majority of woman refuse to go out with a man who's shorter then them? maybe they don't feel very feminine because the man doesn't tower over them therefore they feel insecure or maybe it's some sort of daddy fixation i dunno woman and men are both guilty of these issues of height I'm only 5'6'' and the only woman who've ever given me the time of day were the shorter ones

[Pete_Black]

Woman overexagerrate about their height to. I had a friend who said she would never go date a guy below 5'11'' because according to her she was 5'7'' I called her bluff and measured her the tape measure read 164cm which is like 5'4'' She was pretty embarassed I called another girl's bluff and measured her she had found a way to convince herself she was 5'10'' but when I took out the tape measure surprise surprise she was only 5'8'' (173cm) She didn't believe me and was angry about it the entire day so there you go woman lie about their height.

[uksmartass]

Officially, it is 5'9, as it also is in the USA. In Germany, the average man stands at around 5'8, while in France, it is little more than 5'7. The tallest people in the world are the Dutch, with the men averaging around 6'. A point to note is the fact that the average figures take into account ALL men. Hence, a young man may feel tall compared to the average, as a result of not taking note of the fact that, in relative terms, he is not so tall. For example: at six-foot-tall, I could easily consider myself to be three inches above the average height for a man (which I am), but would not be taking into account the fact that, for my age, it is not so tall. At six foot, I can honestly say that I feel little more than average height, as I'll frequently have a group of guys all taller than me pass me (and I'm not talking here about a Basketball team). I've heard, and I'd say, that, for the 18-25 category of men, 5'11 was average. I think that, as said, one feels more small when stood next to a taller guy, than they do small when stood next to a shorter guy. If standing next to my 5'4 mate, I feel less tall than I would small stood next to a 6'8 guy. This said, we take relative notice of taller people, and feel relatively different in size to whom (i.e. as compared with how we do different in size when stood next to smaller people). People DO tend to exaggerate their heights. For example, a person of my acquaintance who is a good half an inch shorter than myself, claims to be 6'2. I resist the temptation to correct him. 6' used to be a great height (my grandparents and even my parents consider me to be very tall, while I'm more the high side of average), but is not so anymore.

[jenn09]

I just wanted to say that I'm 5'7" (I don't believe I've had a growth spurt yet) teen and I love shorter guys! They're the best. I like the way the carry themselves, or something.... and I get sick of the way tall guys have so much pride in their "manliness."  So, hey- all you shorter guys, hang in their because you're precisely what I might want.

[frenchi_babi]

An add on question I guess is why do people feel that being tall is so glamor or better. I guess that I am personality impared and relatively go for the tall. But the many tricks they have to make you tall is just shocking, I mean why dont you just add extensions to your legs or buy some shoes like the band kiss. Shore your height will be different but will your life???
I guess I have no idea what it is like from your point of view, or how you feel about your body, I mean I am from New Zealand and am 5'12 female 17yr, I have a slim build and not to sound cocky but I'm not exactly ugly (modesty is always the best commodity). Yet I still have insecurities about my body. I mean I guess if you werent wishing you were taller you would be wishing that you were shorter or bigger or thinner. All in all the reality is we compare ourselves to an orchestre of perfected clones, produced by the media. Which may I say is stupid but inevitable because although I know this depressing fact it does not stop me from looking in the mirror and wondering what if?.
So to basically summarise this answer to a doubtful question. in truth it does matter what you look like, its something that you cannot escape, but is what you look like something you will run from?????
I CERTAINLY HOPE NOT!!!
Quick tip: Try focus on your greatest attribtues, like for me I would say it would me my legs so I show'em off. For you it might be your eyes e.g. if you have deep blue eyes then wear shirts with deep blue details all in all it will definetly look heaps hott!!
Mwah and good luck on your journey called ----LIFE----