Asia has 14 of the world’s top 25 shortest countries – can you guess who’s No 1?

An average of those two figures was taken to get a rough idea of the average height of a person in each country. The separate figures for men and women are also listed.

Here are the 25 countries with the shortest average populations:

People watch a sunset at the Galle Face Seafront in Colombo earlier this month. Sri Lankans stand 160.12cm tall, on average. Photo: EPA-EFE

25. Sri Lanka

The average Sri Lankan is 160.12cm (5 feet 3.04 inches) tall.

The average man in Sri Lanka is 165.68cm (5 feet 5.23 inches) tall.

The average woman in Sri Lanka is 154.56cm (5 feet 0.85 inches) tall.

24. Honduras

The average person in Honduras is 160.11cm (5 feet 3.03 inches) tall.

The average Honduran man is 166.39cm (5 feet 5.5 inches) tall.

The average Honduran woman is 153.84cm (5.056 inches) tall.

23. Liberia

The average Liberian is 159.66cm (5 feet 2.85 inches) tall.

An average Liberian man is 163.66cm (5 feet 4.43 inches) tall.

An average Liberian woman is 155.66cm (5 feet 1.28 inches) tall.

People wait for rice donated by the UN World Food Programme at a monastery in Sittwe, Myanmar’s Rakhine state, following a cyclone last month. Poor diet is one of the major factors that determines a person’s height, studies say. Photo: AFP

22. Myanmar

The average person in Myanmar is 159.52cm (5 feet 2.8 inches) tall.

An average Myanmar man is 164.67cm (5 feet 4.83 inches) tall.

An average Myanmar woman is 154.37cm (5 feet 0.77 inches) tall.

Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah (front, left) inspects a guard of honour at Brunei’s royal palace in 2017. The average Bruneian man is 165cm tall. Photo: Xinhua

21. Brunei

The average Bruneian is 159.49cm (5 feet 2.79 inches) tall.

The average Bruneian man is 165cm (5 feet 4.96 inches) tall.

The average Bruneian woman is 153.98cm (5 feet 0.62 inches) tall.

Bhutan’s Queen Jetsun Pema (right) and Princess Euphelma arrive at a palace in Amman this month for the royal wedding ceremony of Jordan’s crown prince. The average Bhutanese woman is 153.62cm tall. Photo: Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP

20. Bhutan

The average person in Bhutan is 159.46cm (5 fet 2.77 inches) tall.

The average Bhutanese man is 165.3cm (5 feet 5.07 inches) tall.

The average Bhutanese woman is 153.62cm (5 feet 0.48 inches) tall.

19. Mozambique

The average Mozambican is 159.37cm (5 feet 2.74 inches) tall.

An average Mozambican man is 164.79cm (5 feet 4.88 inches) tall.

The average Mozambican woman is 153.96cm (5 feet 0.61 inches) tall.

18. Solomon Islands

Men, on average, in the Solomon Islands are 164.14cm (5 feet 4.62 inches) tall.

While woman in the Solomon Islands are, on average, 154.41cm (5 feet 0.79 inches) tall.

A darts competition in Port Moresby last month. Papuan men are 163.56cm tall on average. Photo: AFP

17. Papua New Guinea

Papuans are an average 159.21cm (5 feet 2.68 inches) tall.

Papuan men are 163.56cm (5 feet 4.39 inches) tall on average.

Papuan women are 154.87cm (5 feet 0.97 inches) tall on average.

16. Peru

The average height of a person in Peru is 159.08cm (5 feet 2.63 inches).

An average Peruvian man is 165.23cm (5 feet 5.05 inches) tall.

An average Peruvian woman is 152.93cm (5 feet 0.21 inches) tall.

People rest inside a shopping centre to escape high temperatures in Hanoi earlier this month. Vietnamese people are 159.01cm tall on average. Photo: AFP

15. Vietnam

People in Vietnam have an average height of 159.01cm (5 feet 2.60 inches).

Vietnamese men are on average 164.44cm (5 feet 4.74 inches) tall.

Vietnamese women are on average 153.59cm 5 feet 0.46 inches) tall.

A crowded beach in Mumbai pictured last summer. Indians are 158.76cm tall on average. Photo: Reuters

14. India

Indians are 158.76cm (5 feet 2.5 inches) tall on average.

An average Indian man is 164.94cm (5 feet 4.93 inches) tall.

The average Indian women is 152.58cm (5 feet 0.07 inches) tall.

13. Rwanda

Rwandans have an average height of 158.73cm (5 feet 2.49 inches).

Rwandan men are on average 162.67 (5 feet 4.04 inches) tall.

Rwandan women are on average 158.73cm (5 feet 2.49 inches) tall.

12. Malawi

People from Malawi are 158.31cm (5 feet 2.32 inches) tall on average.

The average man from Malawi is 162.22cm (5 feet 3.86 inches) tall, and the average women from the country is 154.4cm (5 feet 0.78 inches) tall.

People assist a young jockey and his mount before a traditional horse race in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Monday. Indonesian men are 163.55cm tall on average. Photo: AFP

11. Indonesia

People in Indonesia are an average of 158.17cm (5 feet 2.27 inches) tall.

Indonesian men are 163.55cm (5 feet 4.39 inches) tall on average.

Indonesian women are 152.79cm (5 feet 0.15 inches) tall on average.

People attend the closing ceremony of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh last month. Cambodians are an average of 158.11cm tall. Photo: Xinhua

10. Cambodia

In Cambodia, people are 158.11cm (5 feet 2.24 inches) tall on average.

The men are an average 163.32cm (5 feet 4.30 inches) tall.

The women are an average 152.9cm (5 feet 0.19 inches) tall.

People gather at an electronics shop in Dhaka to buy fans during a countrywide heatwave earlier this month. The average Bangladeshi is 157.29cm tall. Photo: Reuters

9. Bangladesh

The average Bangladeshi is 157.29cm (5 feet 1.92 inches) tall.

The average Bangladeshi man is 163.8cm (5 feet 4.48 inches) tall.

The average Bangladeshi woman is 150.78cm (4 feet 11.36 inches) tall.

8. The Marshall Islands

An average person in the small Micronesian nation of the Marshall Islands is 157.05cm (5 feet 1.83 inches) tall.

A man from the Marshall Islands is on average 162.8cm (5 fet 4.09 inches) tall.

A woman from the Marshall Islands is on average 151.3cm (4 feet 11.56 inches) tall.

7. Yemen

The average Yemeni is 156.92cm (5 feet 1.78 inches) tall.

The average male in Yemen is 159.88cm (5 feet 2.94 inches) tall.

The average female in Yemen is 153.97cm (5 feet 0.61 inches) tall.

People from Nepal’s Kirat community perform a traditional dance during a festival in Kathmandu last month. The average Nepali person is 156.58cm tall. Photo: Xinhua

6. Nepal

The average person in Nepal is 156.58cm (5 feet 1.64 inches) tall.

The average Nepali man 162.31cm (5 feet 3.9 inches) tall.

The average Nepali woman is 150.86cm (4 feet 11.39 inches) tall.

Filipino children frolic in a lake in Philippines’ Albay province with the active Mayon volcano in the background. The average Filipino is 156.41cm tall. Photo: EPA-EFE

5. Philippines

The average person in the Philippines is 156.41cm (5 feet 1.57 inches) tall.

The average Filipino man is 163.22cm (5 feet 4.25 inches) tall.

The average Filipino woman is 149.6cm (4 feet 10.89 inches) tall.

4. Guatemala

The average Guatemalan is 156.39cm (5 feet 1.57 inches) tall.

The average Guatemalan man is 163.4cm (5 feet 4.33 inches) tall.

The average Guatemalan woman is 149.38cm (4 feet 10.81cm) tall.

3. Madagascar

The average person in Madagascar is 156.36cm (5 feet 1.56 inches) tall.

The average Malagasy man is 161.54cm (5 feet 3.6 inches) tall.

The average Malagasy woman is 151.18cm (4 feet 11.51 inches) tall.

People walk by a war monument in the Laotian capital Vientiane. The average person from Laos is 155.89cm tall. Photo: AFP

2. Laos

An average person from Laos is 155.89cm (5 feet 1.37 inches) tall.

A Lao man is on average 160.51cm (5 feet 3.19 inches) tall.

Lao women are 151.26cm (4 feet 11.55 inches) tall on average.

People queue to cast their votes during parliamentary elections in Dili last month. People in East Timor are 155.47cm tall on average. Photo: EPA-EFE

1. East Timor

People in East Timor are on average 155.47cm (5 feet 1.28 inches) tall.

The average Timorese man is 159.79cm (5 feet 2.9 inches) tall.

The average Timorese woman is 151.15cm (4 feet 11.5 inches) tall.

What’s behind the height differences?

Genetics is only part of the answer, Majid Ezzati, who runs the NCD study at Imperial College London, told BBC News.

Speaking of how national average heights change over decades, he said: “About a third of the explanation could be genes, but that doesn’t explain the change over time.

“Genes don’t change that fast and they don’t vary that much across the world,” he said, adding: “So changes over time and variations across the world are largely environmental.”

Why are some children taller? Diet a bigger factor than genes

Environmental factors such as poor diet are likely part of the answer, according to the BBC, citing a study that found a 20cm (7.9 in) difference between children in the tallest and shortest nations.

It could also help explain why average heights in several nations have both risen and fallen over the last decades – while nations like Japan, South Korea and China have seen height increases, some sub-Saharan African nations like Uganda and Sierra have seen male height decreases, the BBC reported.

Who are the world’s smallest men and women?

Only one of the officially listed world’s shortest living people is from a country on this list. Their heights stem from forms of dwarfism.

In 2009, the Guinness World Records split the category of shortest person into mobile and non-mobile people, to differentiate between people who can walk unassisted and those who cannot.

Small statures, big hearts: life lessons from a couple with dwarfism

The world’s shortest mobile woman is actress Jyoti Amge from India, who stands at 62.8 centimetres (2ft 0.75 inches). Social media personality Afshin Esmaeil Ghaderzadeh from Iran, who is 65.24cm (2ft 1.6 inches), is the shortest mobile man.

The world’s shortest non-mobile woman is Wildine Aumoithe, a Haitian-American who is 72cm (2ft 3.5 in). As of 2021, she was studying to be a pharmacist.

At present, there is no non-mobile male record holder.

This article was first published on Insider