Height is fixed. Where you stand relative to everyone else is not. At 5'8" (173 cm) you're about two centimeters below the median American man — but you're taller than the median man in 10 of the 29 countries in our database, and in a few of them you're pushing the 90th percentile. This post is the raw reference table: every country, ranked, with the exact numbers.
We've written before about where your height matters most — that post covers the dating-market angle. This one is the data companion: the full height rankings, what a standard deviation actually means, and where the common brackets (5'6", 5'8", 5'10", 6'0") land you.
Median Male Height: All 29 Countries, Ranked
Median Male Height (cm)
The full spread runs from the Philippines at 164 cm (about 5'4.5") to a three-way tie at the top — the Czech Republic, Poland, and Serbia — at 181 cm (just over 5'11"). That's a 17 cm gap between the tallest and shortest countries, or roughly 6.7 inches. The United States sits mid-pack at 175 cm (5'9").
The Tallest Tier
| # | Country | Avg Height | Height SD | COL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Czech Republic | 181 cm | 7 | 47.9/100 |
| 2 | Poland | 181 cm | 7 | 39.7/100 |
| 3 | Serbia | 181 cm | 7 | 30/100 |
| 4 | Germany | 180 cm | 7.2 | 72.5/100 |
| 5 | France | 179 cm | 7 | 81.5/100 |
| 6 | Canada | 179 cm | 7.4 | 70/100 |
| 7 | Romania | 178 cm | 7 | 34.5/100 |
| 8 | United Kingdom | 178 cm | 7.1 | 83.3/100 |
Notice the pattern: the tallest tier is almost entirely Central and Eastern Europe plus the Germanic West. Czech Republic, Poland, and Serbia at 181 cm, Germany at 180, France and Canada at 179, Romania and the UK at 178. If you're under 5'10", these are the countries where you'll feel shortest.
The Shortest Tier
| # | Country | Avg Height | Height SD | COL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philippines | 164 cm | 6.5 | 34/100 |
| 2 | Indonesia | 166 cm | 6.5 | 34.5/100 |
| 3 | Peru | 167 cm | 6.5 | 30.4/100 |
| 4 | Vietnam | 169 cm | 6.5 | 31.1/100 |
| 5 | Mexico | 170 cm | 7 | 32/100 |
| 6 | Kenya | 170 cm | 7 | 32/100 |
| 7 | South Africa | 170 cm | 7 | 44/100 |
| 8 | Colombia | 172 cm | 6.8 | 27.6/100 |
The other end of the table is Southeast Asia and the Andes: the Philippines (164 cm), Indonesia (166), Peru (167), and Vietnam (169). Mexico, Kenya, and South Africa all sit at 170 cm — about 5'7".
What a Standard Deviation Actually Means
The median only tells you the middle. The standard deviation (SD) tells you how spread out everyone else is — and it changes your percentile math significantly. One SD above the median puts you around the 84th percentile; two SDs above is roughly the 98th. One SD below drops you to about the 16th.
Height SD varies more than people expect. The U.S. has the widest spread in our database at 7.6 cm — a very mixed population means tall and short are both common. Japan has the tightest at 5.8 cm, with South Korea close behind at 6.0. A tight SD cuts both ways: in Japan, being 6'0" (183 cm) is 11 cm — nearly two full SDs — above the 172 cm median, which is around the 97th percentile. In the U.S., the same 6'0" is only about one SD up: 85th percentile. Same height, very different room.
The Bracket Breakdown: 5'6", 5'8", 5'10", 6'0"
5'6" (168 cm). Below the median in most of the world, but above it in the Philippines (164 cm), Indonesia (166), and Peru (167), and within about one centimeter of the median in Vietnam (169). In the Philippines that's roughly +0.6 SD — around the 70th percentile. In the Czech Republic it's nearly two SDs below the 181 cm median — bottom few percent. No height bracket swings harder by geography than this one.
5'8" (173 cm). The pivot height. You're above the median in 10 countries — the entire shortest tier plus Colombia, Thailand, and Japan (all 172 cm). In the Philippines, 173 cm is about +1.3 SD: roughly the 90th percentile. You're essentially at the median in Italy and Bulgaria (174) and just under it in the U.S., Argentina, and the Dominican Republic (175). In Poland or Serbia, though, you're more than one SD down.
5'10" (178 cm). Above the median in 21 of 29 countries. You match Romania and the UK exactly, and only the Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia (181), Germany (180), France, and Canada (179) have you below their middle. In Vietnam (169 cm, SD 6.5), 178 cm is about +1.4 SD — top 8 percent.
6'0" (183 cm). Above the median everywhere in the database — the tallest national median is 181 cm. But "tall" still varies: in the Czech Republic you're only +0.3 SD (about the 61st percentile — unremarkable), in the U.S. +1.0 SD (85th), in Japan +1.9 SD (97th), and in the Philippines roughly +2.9 SD — statistically about 1 in 500 men.
How to Use These Numbers
Raw medians are the starting point, not the conclusion. Percentile position — your height against the local median and SD — is what actually determines whether you read as tall on the street. Stack that with income and fitness and the picture sharpens further; the Compare tool lets you line up any two countries side by side.
Or skip the spreadsheet math entirely: pick your destination and run the free rarity calculator — it computes your exact height percentile (plus income and fitness rarity) for any of the 29 countries above in about thirty seconds.