Height Statistics Are Fun To Compare
One of the most astounding height statistics is that of the NBA player Jeremy Lin. Lin’s heritage is Asian American, a combination of Taiwanese and Chinese. The funny thing is that his parents were only 5’6” tall, yet he’s 6’3”.
Fewer than 0.5% of Men’s Division 1 basketball players are and were Asian-American. Think back to any time you ever watched basketball games. How many times did you see an Asian American on any team?
Probably none, since the average male height for a man in China is 5’4.9” and the average height of a woman there is 5’ 0.8”, less than 5’1” tall.
In Taiwan, the average male height is 5” 7.5” tall and the average height of a woman is 5’2.75” tall.
Compare these heights to the average male height in the U.S. of 5’10.2” tall and the average female height of 5’4.6” tall. And compare these heights to those in India and you see that the average height for a man in India is 5’ 5” tall and the average height of a woman in the same country is 5’ tall.
How Jeremy Lin Grew So Tall
On a radio interview on National Public Radio on Feb. 14, 2012, it was reported that when Jeremy was young, he “drank a lot of milk and took calcium tablets” so he could grow taller.
Jeremy grew up in Palo Alto, California and went to college at Harvard. He’s a player right now for the Golden State Warriors.
Jeremy’s strategy makes a lot of sense since studies prove that there’s a correlation between milk drinking and height. The more milk you drink, the taller you grow.
That means that if you’re a child and you love drinking pop (carbonated beverages), then forget about ever fulfilling a dream of being a basketball player.
In one of his recent games, Jeremy scored 32 points. He’s quickly becoming a “Lin-sensation” or as Magic Johnson said, “It’s official: Linsanity is for real!”
Height Statistics From Around The World
But let’s look at some other height statistics around the world and see who could be the tallest and / or the shortest.
Let’s first consider the continent of Europe. Here’s a little chart that sums up the average heights of the people there:
| Country | Average Male Height | Average Female Height |
| France | 5’ 8.5” | 5’ 3.7” |
| Germany | 5’ 10” | 5’ 4.9” |
| Hungary | 5’ 10.4” | 5’ 5.2” |
| Italy | 5’ 9.7” | 5’ 4.2” |
| Spain | 5’ 7” | 5’ 3.3” |
| Czech Republic | 5’ 11” | 5’ 6” |
Next let’s consider the continent of South America. In Argentina, the average male height is 5’8.6” tall, which is taller than in Brazil where the average male height is 5’ 6.5”.
In Columbia, men are in between those two numbers. The average female height in Argentina is 5”3.4”, compared to 5’2.2” in Brazil, and Columbia is 5’ 2.4” tall.
What about the country down under? Is the height of the people down there down under the norm, too?
| Country | Average Male Height | Average Height of a Female |
| New Zealand | 5’ 9.7” | 5’ 5” |
| Australia | 5’ 10.2” | 5’ 4.5” |
Well, do we have any tall people in Africa? It certainly seems that many Africans are tall – at least African Americans are – but it’s a well known fact that nutritional needs may not be met for many people in Africa. How does their average height compare to the other countries?
| Country | Average Male Height | Average Height of a Female |
| Nigeria | 5’ 4.5” | 5’ 2.1” |
| South Africa | 5’ 6.5” | 5” 2.5” |
| New Zealand | 5’ 9.7” | 5’ 5” |
| Australia | 5’ 10.2” | 5’ 4.5” |
Not exactly what I expected. How about you?
Well, let’s keep traveling around the world here and see what happens to average height in the cold climates of Denway and Sweden.
| Country | Average Male Height | Average Female Height |
| Sweden | 5’ 10.9” | 5’ 5.7” |
| Norway | 5’ 10.8” | 5’ 5.9” |
| Netherlands | 6’ 0.8” | 5’ 6.4” |
| Denmark | 5’ 11.1” | not available |
| Iceland | 5’ 11.5” | 5’ 6” |
So now wouldn’t you agree that height statistics are fun?
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