ശരാശരി ഉയരം in India
With the source, the survey round and the year attached — because without those, a height figure means nothing.
The published figure, and what it is a figure of
164.9cm men
Mean adult height in India is 164.9 cm (5'5") for men and 152.6 cm (5'0") for women — for birth cohort 1996 (height at age 18, i.e. c. 2014), from measured rather than self-reported surveys.
Quoted to the millimetre, or quoted "as of this year", it is being overstated. The underlying release has not been updated with a newer birth cohort, and this site does not extrapolate one.
SOURCE·NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), 'A century of trends in adult human height', eLife 2016;5:e13410 - country mean height at age 18 by year of birth·measured heights, pooled·REVIEWED JUL 2026
The figures
| Group | Centimetres | Feet and inches | Source year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 164.9 | 5'5" | birth cohort 1996 (height at age 18, i.e. c. 2014) |
| Women | 152.6 | 5'0" | birth cohort 1996 (height at age 18, i.e. c. 2014) |
SOURCE·NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), 'A century of trends in adult human height', eLife 2016;5:e13410 - country mean height at age 18 by year of birth·mean height at 18, by birth cohort·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Full citation: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), 'A century of trends in adult human height', eLife 2016;5:e13410 - country mean height at age 18 by year of birth Source.
What counts as a national mean here
- Use measured height only. Surveys that ask rather than measure run systematically tall, and they run taller the shorter the respondent is.
- Name the birth cohort, not the calendar year. The figure above is mean height at age 18 for the 1996 birth cohort — people who turned 18 around 2014.
- Do not read NFHS as a source of mean height. It measures height, but publishes threshold indicators — most prominently the share of women under 145 cm — and no male height indicator at all.
- Where no citable mean exists, leave the space empty rather than filling it from an aggregator.
national mean = pooled measured height at age 18, birth cohort 1996 NFHS mean height = not published
Why the number is slippery
"Average height in India" is not one quantity. It differs by the birth cohort you measure, by whether height was measured or self-reported, by the age range surveyed, and — substantially — by state, urban or rural residence, and household wealth. A single national figure conceals all of that, which is why this site publishes the state-level indicators separately rather than presenting one number as the whole story.
It is also worth knowing what the National Family Health Survey does and does not publish. NFHS measures height directly, but its published tables report the indicators derived from those measurements — most notably the share of women shorter than 145 cm, which is used as a nutritional and obstetric-risk marker — rather than a mean. There is no male height indicator in NFHS-5 at all. Anyone quoting "the NFHS average height for India" is quoting something else, usually without saying so.
NFHS-5 (2019-21) does not publish a mean adult height for India. Its only national height statistic is: 11.5% of women age 15-49 are below 145 cm (India Report Vol.1, Table 10.20.1). No male height indicator is published.
Exactly what the headline figure is
The 164.9 cm and 152.6 cm above are mean height at age 18 for the birth cohort of 1996 — that is, people who reached 18 around 2014 — pooled by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration from measured (not self-reported) height surveys. Height at 18 is effectively final adult height, so it is a fair proxy for adult mean height in that cohort.
What it is not: a 2026 measurement, a mean across all living adults, or a figure that NFHS published. The NCD-RisC adult-height release has not been updated with a newer birth cohort, and this site does not extrapolate one. If a page elsewhere quotes an Indian average height to a tenth of a centimetre "as of this year", ask which survey measured it.
Self-reported height is the other trap. Surveys that ask rather than measure run systematically tall — people round up, and they round up more the shorter they are. Every figure on this site comes from measured data.
By state and union territory
36 states and union territories with published indicators. Any state whose figure could not be verified against the source has been left out rather than estimated.
India compared with other countries
Questions
What is the average height in India?
Approximately 164.9 cm (5'5") for adult men and 152.6 cm (5'0") for adult women, from birth cohort 1996 (height at age 18, i.e. c. 2014), per NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), 'A century of trends in adult human height', eLife 2016;5:e13410 - country mean height at age 18 by year of birth. Any figure quoted to the millimetre is overstating the precision of the underlying surveys.
Does NFHS publish an average height for India?
The National Family Health Survey measures height and weight directly for women aged 15–49 and men aged 15–54, but its published fact sheets report indicators derived from those measurements — the percentage of women below 145 cm, the percentage of adults with a BMI below 18.5, and the percentage overweight or obese — rather than a headline mean height. That is why the mean figures on this site are attributed to their own source and the NFHS indicators are shown separately, per state.
Why do average height figures for India differ between websites?
Because they come from different studies, different age ranges, different birth cohorts and sometimes from self-reported rather than measured height. A pooled analysis of measured heights for a specific birth cohort and a survey of a specific age band are answering different questions. The only defensible thing to do is name the source and the year, which is what every figure here does.
Is the average height in India increasing?
Pooled analyses of measured adult height show India's mean adult height rose over the twentieth century, as it did in most countries, with the gains driven by childhood nutrition and reduced infectious disease burden rather than by genetics. More recent survey evidence has been debated, including analyses suggesting the increase has stalled or partially reversed in some groups. This site does not adjudicate that debate; it cites the figures it publishes.
National figures cited to their published source on this page; state indicators to the NFHS-5 fact sheets on each state page. General information only — not medical advice. Growth varies enormously between healthy individuals; a single measurement means little. Discuss any concern about a child's growth with a paediatrician. See data & method for every source, survey round and rounding rule used on this site.
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