The average height of both males and females in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland) are all among the tallest 20 countries in the world (or top 10%), with Nordics on average reaching over 180 cm / 5 ft 10⅞ in (men) and 167 cm / 5 ft 5¾ in (women), according to an extensive 2020 summary of 2181 studies published by a team headed by Dr. Martinez-Rodriguez in The Lancet.
Data: Rodriguez-Martinez 2020
This is the biggest dataset mapping human height that scientists have compiled so far, and it shows that Danes are the 4th tallest people in the world, followed by the Icelandic in 6th, the Swedes in 12th, Norwegians in 13th, and finally the Finns in 17th place.
This makes the Nordic people the second tallest in the world, just under the Baltics which is the region with the tallest average height for men and women in the world.
Let’s take a more detailed look at how the Nordic people—both male and female—stack up against each other and the world when it comes to height:
Average Height of Men and Women in the Nordic Countries
| Country | Female avg. height | Male avg. height | Global rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | 169 cm / 5 ft 6 in | 182 cm / 5 ft 11½ in | 4th |
| 🇮🇸 Iceland | 168 cm / 5 ft 6⅛ in | 181 cm / 5 ft 11¼ in | 6th |
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | 167 cm / 5 ft 5¾ in | 180 cm / 5 ft 10⅞ in | 12th |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | 166 cm / 5 ft 5⅜ in | 180 cm / 5 ft 10⅞ in | 13th |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | 166 cm / 5 ft 5⅜ in | 180 cm / 5 ft 10⅞in | 17th |
The Danish men and women are the tallest people in the Nordics, with the average Danish man reaching 182 cm (5 ft 12 in), and the average woman 169 cm (5 ft 6 in). In the rest of the Nordics, Icelandic men follow at 181 cm / 5’11¼”, while the Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish men all reach 180 cm / 5’10⅞”.
To sum it up in plain words:
- 🇩🇰 The average Danish man is 182 cm (5 ft 12 in) tall, and the average Danish woman is 169 cm (5 ft 6 in)
- 🇮🇸 The average Icelandic man is 181 cm (5 ft 11¼ in) tall, and the average Icelandic woman is 168 cm (5 ft 6⅛ in)
- 🇸🇪 The average Swedish man is 180 cm (5 ft 10⅞ in) tall, and the average Swedish woman is 167 cm (5 ft 5¾ in)
- 🇳🇴 The average Norwegian man is 180 cm (5 ft 10⅞ in) tall, and the average Norwegian woman is 166 cm (5 ft 5⅜ in)
- 🇫🇮 The average Finnish man is 180 cm (5 ft 10⅞ in) tall, and the average Finnish woman is 166 cm (5 ft 5⅜ in)
Average Height in the Nordics Compared to Other Regions
Let’s also look at how Nordic people as a whole compare to people from other regions of the world in height:
| Rank | Region | Female weighted avg. height | Male weighted avg. height |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Baltics | 167.54 cm / 5 ft 5¾ in | 180.44 cm / 5 ft 10⅞ in |
| 2nd | Nordics | 167.03 cm / 5 ft 5¾ in | 180.44 cm / 5 ft 10⅞ in |
| 3rd | Central Europe | 165.72 cm / 5 ft 4⅞ in | 179.70 cm / 5 ft 10½ in |
| 4th | Benelux + France | 165.10 cm / 5 ft 4⅞ in | 179.21 cm / 5 ft 10½ in |
| 5th | British Isles | 164.00 cm / 5 ft 4½ in | 178.07 cm / 5 ft 10⅛ in |
| 6th | Southeastern Europe | 164.88 cm / 5 ft 4½ in | 177.57 cm / 5 ft 9¾ in |
| 7th | US + Canada | 163.21 cm / 5 ft 4¼ in | 177.10 cm / 5 ft 9¾ in |
| 8th | Southern Europe | 162.88 cm / 5 ft 3¾ in | 176.58 cm / 5 ft 9¼ in |
| 9th | Southwestern Europe | 162.64 cm / 5 ft 3¾ in | 176.57 cm / 5 ft 9¼ in |
To get these results, I added up the individual country data and calculated a weighted average for each region (i.e. an average adjusted for the population of each country within the region), enabling us to see that the Nordic and Baltic men are the tallest in the world by region.
As the Baltic ladies are slightly taller (0.5 cm / 0.2 in) than their Nordic sisters, the Baltics narrowly takes the prize as tallest region in the World in front of the Nordics.
It should also be added that the countries around the Dinaric Alps in the Western Balkans would place in the top if S.E. Europe had been split up into smaller sub-regions, as these countries are among the tallest in the world.
Why are Nordic People So Tall Globally Speaking?
Europeans in general are thought to be taller on average primarily due to a generally improved diet starting in the mid-1800s according to Professor Lars Werdelin (Swedish Museum of Natural History), and specifically the availability of nutritious school meals more recently according to Dr. Rodriguez Martinez (Imperial College in London).
It should be noted that human length, in general, is believed to be determined by a mixture of nature (genes) and nurture (diet), much like every other human trait.
So while a healthy diet has a big impact on human height, there are also regions of the world that are believed to have had a taller or shorter average height historically speaking due to primarily genetic reasons—such as the short Pygmee people of central Africa, and the tall Dinka people of South Sudan.
The Dinka people have recently been observed to have lost much of their tall stature though, due to—you guessed it—undernutrition, indicating that a healthy diet is the more important factor in determining human height.
Sources:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31859-6/fulltext
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-54828544
