How tall are Dutch people?
According to their own statements, men aged 19 years who were born in the Netherlands in 2020 are on average 182.9 cm tall. Women of the same age born in the Netherlands measure 169.3 cm. During the course of the last century we have kept growing taller, but after 1980 this growth seemed to have ceased.
Generation born around 1980 the tallest
Men born in 1930 were 175.6 cm tall on average, those born in 1980 attained a height of 183.9 cm. In other words, men have grown an average of 8.3 cm taller in fifty years. Women have also grown considerably taller. The generation of women from 1930 attained an average height of 165.4 cm; those born in 1980 grew to 170.7 cm, almost 5.3 cm taller. For generations born after the early 1980s, growth in height has stopped. Men born in 2001 were on average 1 cm shorter than the generation from 1980, women on average 1.4 cm.
| birth year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 175.6 | 165.4 |
| 1931 | 175.6 | 166 |
| 1932 | 175.7 | 166 |
| 1933 | 176.5 | 166.6 |
| 1934 | 176.2 | 166 |
| 1935 | 176.3 | 165.7 |
| 1936 | 176.3 | 165.7 |
| 1937 | 176.6 | 165.9 |
| 1938 | 176.5 | 166.1 |
| 1939 | 177.2 | 166.3 |
| 1940 | 177.3 | 166 |
| 1941 | 177.5 | 166.2 |
| 1942 | 177.6 | 166.4 |
| 1943 | 177.6 | 166.6 |
| 1944 | 178 | 166.5 |
| 1945 | 178 | 166.5 |
| 1946 | 178.8 | 166.7 |
| 1947 | 179 | 166.8 |
| 1948 | 179.2 | 166.9 |
| 1949 | 179.6 | 167 |
| 1950 | 179.4 | 166.8 |
| 1951 | 179.9 | 167 |
| 1952 | 179.9 | 167 |
| 1953 | 180.1 | 167.2 |
| 1954 | 180.4 | 167.4 |
| 1955 | 180.8 | 167.6 |
| 1956 | 181 | 167.7 |
| 1957 | 181.1 | 167.9 |
| 1958 | 181.4 | 168 |
| 1959 | 181.6 | 168.2 |
| 1960 | 181.7 | 168.5 |
| 1961 | 181.8 | 168.6 |
| 1962 | 182 | 168.6 |
| 1963 | 182.1 | 168.9 |
| 1964 | 182.5 | 169.1 |
| 1965 | 182.8 | 169.3 |
| 1966 | 183 | 169.6 |
| 1967 | 183.1 | 169.7 |
| 1968 | 183.3 | 169.9 |
| 1969 | 183.4 | 170.1 |
| 1970 | 183.5 | 170.1 |
| 1971 | 183.5 | 170.2 |
| 1972 | 183.4 | 170.2 |
| 1973 | 183.5 | 170.2 |
| 1974 | 183.6 | 170.3 |
| 1975 | 183.5 | 170.4 |
| 1976 | 183.8 | 170.4 |
| 1977 | 183.8 | 170.4 |
| 1978 | 183.5 | 170.6 |
| 1979 | 183.8 | 170.7 |
| 1980 | 183.9 | 170.7 |
| 1981 | 183.7 | 170.3 |
| 1982 | 183.8 | 170.5 |
| 1983 | 183.6 | 170.4 |
| 1984 | 183.4 | 170.3 |
| 1985 | 183.4 | 170.2 |
| 1986 | 183.4 | 170 |
| 1987 | 183.3 | 170 |
| 1988 | 183.4 | 169.9 |
| 1989 | 183.3 | 169.8 |
| 1990 | 183.4 | 169.7 |
| 1991 | 183.1 | 169.8 |
| 1992 | 183.1 | 169.5 |
| 1993 | 183.2 | 169.5 |
| 1994 | 183.2 | 169.4 |
| 1995 | 183.3 | 169.6 |
| 1996 | 182.8 | 169.5 |
| 1997 | 183.2 | 169.5 |
| 1998 | 183.3 | 169.5 |
| 1999 | 183.6 | 169.5 |
| 2000 | 183.4 | 169.5 |
| 2001 | 182.9 | 169.3 |
| 1 The figures for the last cohort (birth year 2001) indicate the average height of a 19-year-old person in 2020. | ||
21 percent of men taller than 190 cm
In the early 1950s, tall men were still very unusual. No more than 3 percent of the generation from 1930–1934 reached a height of at least 190 cm. In 2020, more than 1 in 5 young men were at least 190 cm tall, 7 percent were at least 195 cm tall. A height of less than 175 cm was quite normal for a man in the 1950s: 42 percent of young men were shorter than 175 cm. This height is less common in today’s society: 12 percent of young men are shorter than 175 cm.
| birth cohort | shorter than 175 cm | 175-179 cm | 180-184 cm | 185-189 cm | 190-194 cm | taller than 194 cm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930-1934 | 42.3 | 26.2 | 19.4 | 8.8 | 2.7 | 0.6 |
| 1935-1939 | 38.5 | 27 | 20.3 | 10.2 | 3.2 | 0.8 |
| 1940-1944 | 33.5 | 25.8 | 23.9 | 11.2 | 4.6 | 1 |
| 1945-1949 | 26.3 | 25.4 | 25.7 | 15.1 | 5.7 | 1.8 |
| 1950-1954 | 21.4 | 25.5 | 26.7 | 16.9 | 7 | 2.5 |
| 1955 -1959 | 16.4 | 23 | 28.2 | 20 | 9 | 3.4 |
| 1960-1964 | 13.9 | 20.7 | 28.2 | 22 | 10.6 | 4.5 |
| 1965-1969 | 10.8 | 18.4 | 27.4 | 24.7 | 12.5 | 6.1 |
| 1970-1974 | 10.6 | 17.2 | 27 | 24.4 | 13.7 | 7.1 |
| 1975-1979 | 9.3 | 18.8 | 25.6 | 24.7 | 13.9 | 7.8 |
| 1980-1984 | 9.9 | 16.9 | 27.3 | 24.3 | 13.5 | 8.1 |
| 1985-1989 | 11.1 | 17.7 | 25.3 | 25.3 | 13.2 | 7.3 |
| 1990-1994 | 11.9 | 17.9 | 25.9 | 23.6 | 13.5 | 7.2 |
| 1995-1999 | 11.5 | 17.7 | 26.5 | 24.1 | 13.1 | 7.1 |
| 2000-2001 | 11.7 | 16.8 | 27.1 | 23.8 | 13.4 | 7.1 |
The picture is similar for women. In around 1950, a woman who was 180 cm tall was still rare. Less than 2 percent of the female generation from the 1930s attained this height. Nowadays, you see more tall women walking around. Almost 1 in 10 girls born around 1980 is at least 180 cm tall. This number is declining somewhat in the youngest generation.
| birth cohort | shorter than 160 cm | 160-164 cm | 165-169 cm | 170-174 cm | 175-179 cm | taller than 179 cm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930-1934 | 14.5 | 22 | 34.5 | 20 | 7.6 | 1.5 |
| 1935-1939 | 15.1 | 22.8 | 33.8 | 19.5 | 7.4 | 1.4 |
| 1940-1944 | 12.7 | 22.9 | 33.5 | 21.2 | 8 | 1.7 |
| 1945-1949 | 11.8 | 22.3 | 33.2 | 21.4 | 9.1 | 2.2 |
| 1950-1954 | 11.1 | 21.4 | 32.9 | 22 | 9.9 | 2.8 |
| 1955 -1959 | 9.3 | 19 | 32.4 | 23.7 | 11.9 | 3.7 |
| 1960-1964 | 6.8 | 18.3 | 30.1 | 25.7 | 14 | 5.1 |
| 1965-1969 | 5.3 | 14.1 | 30 | 27.5 | 16.2 | 6.9 |
| 1970-1974 | 4.8 | 13.8 | 27.3 | 28.8 | 17.1 | 8.3 |
| 1975-1979 | 4.6 | 12.8 | 26.6 | 27.5 | 19.6 | 8.9 |
| 1980-1984 | 5.1 | 12.7 | 26.9 | 27.8 | 18.3 | 9.2 |
| 1985-1989 | 5.6 | 14 | 27.6 | 27.2 | 17.2 | 8.3 |
| 1990-1994 | 6.1 | 15.7 | 27.9 | 26.4 | 16.5 | 7.5 |
| 1995-1999 | 6.4 | 16.6 | 27.1 | 25.7 | 16.7 | 7.5 |
| 2000-2001 | 7.1 | 16 | 26.8 | 26.4 | 16.7 | 7.2 |
The questions
- How are figures calculated by CBS?
- How many dwellings in the Netherlands?
- How fast is the Dutch population growing?
- How tall are Dutch people?
- How many farm animals are there in the Netherlands?
- Which jobs often cause a poor work-life balance?
- How many diamond wedding couples are there?
- How much energy is from renewable sources?
- How many people fall victim to domestic violence?
- How many people use the Internet of Things?
- What are the major religions?
- What are the most popular majors?
- What do people die of on an average day?
- How much water do we consume?
- What do we buy online?
- How are the various animal species doing?
- How many under-23s receive youth assistance?
- Which flower bulbs are most common?
- How many companies in the Netherlands?
- Where do Caribbean Dutch children live?
- How do we use our land?
- How many electric cars are driving around?
- Which jobs have the highest levels of mental fatigue?
- How much nitrogen is emitted at livestock farms?
- How many workers belong to a trade union?
- How much have food prices gone up?
- Where were people in the Caribbean Netherlands originally born?
- How many families are at risk of poverty?
- How sustainable is our behaviour?
- What do we import from China?
- How many girls become teenage mothers?
- Has our purchasing power gone up or down?
- How many adults smoke?
- How many millionaires in the Netherlands?
- How many tourists stay overnight in the Netherlands?
- How does CBS handle your privacy?