Height
How tall is 5'8"?
172.72 cm1.73 m · 68″
5 foot 8 is exactly 172.72 cm. For an adult in the United States that is below average for a man and tall for a woman — but the same number lands very differently elsewhere, which is what the table below is for.
Key figures for 5'8"
- Centimetres
- 172.72 cm
- Exact conversion
- Metres
- 1.73 m
- Total inches
- 68″
- 5 ft × 12 + 8
- US percentile
- 37th / 95th
- Men / women (CDC adults)
Is 5'8" tall?
Measured against US adults aged 20 and over, from the CDC's NHANES survey (mean 175.3 cm for men, 161.3 cm for women).
For a man
37th percentile
About 37% of American men are shorter than 5'8", so it reads as below average. Worldwide it is around the 60th percentile.
For a woman
95th percentile
About 95% of American women are shorter than 5'8", so it reads as tall. Worldwide it is around the 98th percentile.
5'8" around the world
Where a height sits depends entirely on who you stand next to. For men, 5'8" runs from the 6th percentile in Netherlands to the 96th percentile in Timor-Leste.
| Country | vs. men | Men’s percentile | vs. women | Women’s percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | −11.1 cm | 6th | +2.3 cm | 64th |
| Montenegro | −10.6 cm | 7th | +2.7 cm | 66th |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | −9.8 cm | 8th | +5.2 cm | 79th |
| Denmark | −9.2 cm | 10th | +3.2 cm | 69th |
| Ukraine | −8.3 cm | 12th | +6.1 cm | 83rd |
| Croatia | −8.1 cm | 13th | +5.9 cm | 82nd |
| Serbia | −8 cm | 13th | +4.4 cm | 75th |
| Poland | −8 cm | 13th | +6.9 cm | 86th |
| Finland | −7.9 cm | 13th | +6.2 cm | 83rd |
| Norway | −7.8 cm | 14th | +6.3 cm | 83rd |
| Sweden | −7.8 cm | 14th | +6 cm | 82nd |
| Germany | −7.6 cm | 14th | +6.5 cm | 84th |
| Greece | −6.6 cm | 18th | +6.9 cm | 86th |
| Ireland | −6.3 cm | 19th | +8.2 cm | 90th |
| Australia | −6.1 cm | 20th | +8 cm | 89th |
| Canada | −6 cm | 20th | +8 cm | 89th |
| France | −5.9 cm | 20th | +8.2 cm | 90th |
| United Kingdom | −5.5 cm | 22nd | +8.8 cm | 91st |
| New Zealand | −5 cm | 24th | +8 cm | 89th |
| Jamaica | −4.3 cm | 27th | +8.4 cm | 90th |
| United States | −4.2 cm | 28th | +9.4 cm | 93rd |
| Russia | −3.9 cm | 29th | +8.2 cm | 90th |
| Turkey | −3.7 cm | 30th | +10.9 cm | 95th |
| Spain | −3.4 cm | 32nd | +10.7 cm | 95th |
| Brazil | −3 cm | 34th | +10.3 cm | 94th |
| China | −3 cm | 34th | +9.2 cm | 92nd |
| Iran | −2.9 cm | 34th | +11.5 cm | 96th |
| South Korea | −2.8 cm | 35th | +9.5 cm | 93rd |
| Argentina | −2.1 cm | 38th | +11.5 cm | 96th |
| Egypt | −1.9 cm | 40th | +11.8 cm | 97th |
| Italy | −1.7 cm | 41st | +10.9 cm | 95th |
| Portugal | −1.7 cm | 41st | +11.5 cm | 96th |
| Japan | +0.6 cm | 53rd | +14.2 cm | 99th |
| Colombia | +0.8 cm | 55th | +14.7 cm | 99th |
| Thailand | +1.1 cm | 56th | +13.3 cm | 98th |
| Nigeria | +1.1 cm | 56th | +14.6 cm | 99th |
| Saudi Arabia | +2 cm | 61st | +13.9 cm | 98th |
| Kenya | +2.2 cm | 62nd | +13.3 cm | 98th |
| Mexico | +2.4 cm | 63rd | +14.8 cm | 99th |
| South Africa | +3.1 cm | 67th | +14.1 cm | 99th |
| Malaysia | +3.5 cm | 69th | +15.6 cm | 99th |
| Vietnam | +3.8 cm | 70th | +14.3 cm | 99th |
| Ethiopia | +3.9 cm | 71st | +15.5 cm | 99th |
| DR Congo | +4.1 cm | 72nd | +16.4 cm | 99th |
| Pakistan | +5.4 cm | 78th | +17.9 cm | >99th |
| Tanzania | +5.7 cm | 79th | +15.8 cm | 99th |
| Peru | +5.9 cm | 80th | +18.3 cm | >99th |
| Myanmar | +6 cm | 80th | +18 cm | >99th |
| India | +6.2 cm | 81st | +17.5 cm | >99th |
| Indonesia | +6.4 cm | 82nd | +18.3 cm | >99th |
| Philippines | +7.5 cm | 86th | +18.6 cm | >99th |
| Bangladesh | +7.6 cm | 86th | +20.3 cm | >99th |
| Nepal | +8.3 cm | 88th | +20.3 cm | >99th |
| Guatemala | +8.3 cm | 88th | +21.8 cm | >99th |
| Timor-Leste | +12.6 cm | 96th | +20 cm | >99th |
Estimated from NCD-RisC national averages for 19-year-olds and an assumed normal distribution. This is the only series that covers every country on a consistent basis, and it runs a little taller than measured adult figures — which is why the US percentiles above, taken from the CDC's adult survey, differ slightly from the US row here. Greyed values sit beyond the 2nd or 98th percentile, where the estimate stops discriminating.How we calculate this → Check your own percentile →
Who is 5'8"?
Public figures with a reported height within 2 cm of 5'8".
- Tom HollandActor5′ 8″173 cm
- Shah Rukh KhanActor5′ 8″173 cm
- RihannaSinger & entrepreneur5′ 8″173 cm
- Ed SheeranSinger-songwriter5′ 8″173 cm
- Robert Downey Jr.Actor5′ 8.5″174 cm
- Jackie ChanActor & martial artist5′ 8.5″174 cm
- Mark ZuckerbergEntrepreneur5′ 7.5″171 cm
Seen side by side: Tom Holland vs Zendaya, Tom Cruise vs Tom Holland and Shah Rukh Khan vs Virat Kohli.
Everyday things about this tall
- Refrigerator 178 cm · 5′ 10″
- SUV 178 cm · 5′ 10″
Nearby heights
Questions about 5'8"
How tall is 5'8" in cm?
5 foot 8 is exactly 172.72 cm, or 1.73 m. That is 68 inches in total (5 × 12 + 8), and each inch is 2.54 cm.
Is 5'8" tall for a man?
In the United States, 5'8" is below average for a man — around the 37th percentile, so roughly 37% of American men are shorter. That is measured against CDC NHANES data for adults aged 20 and over, whose mean is 175.3 cm.
Is 5'8" tall for a woman?
In the United States, 5'8" is tall for a woman — around the 95th percentile, meaning roughly 95% of American women are shorter, against a CDC adult mean of 161.3 cm.
Does 5'8" count as tall everywhere?
No. For men it ranges from about the 6th percentile in Netherlands to the 96th percentile in Timor-Leste. The same height reads very differently depending on where you are.
See 5'8" next to anyone
The chart opens with 5'8" already lined up against the average American man and woman. Add friends, celebrities, objects or your own photo, and every difference is calculated for you.