Icelanders are widely known as among the tallest individuals in the universe. However, how tall are people in Iceland on average? Let’s find it out in this blog post at HoodMWR.
When it comes to Iceland, some of you think of it as a small island country. At the same time, others might think of this nation as a home to Reykjavik, the northernmost capital in the globe. In addition, there are a few who think of Iceland as the westernmost nation of Europe.
Icelanders, as some of you might know, are of Scandinavian descent. Basically, they are usually tall, with blonde hair and a light-skinned tone. In fact, there is little variety in the population. Therefore, genetic researchers have studied diseases amongst Icelanders.
As a few of you might know, Scandinavian is widely known as the descent of people in Iceland. Generally speaking, they are often exceptionally tall, with blonde hair, and have light skin tones. Besides, it is widely believed that the variety in the population in Iceland is very few. As such, the average height of Icelanders is supposed to stabilize over the course of time.
So, what is the current average height in Iceland? Are they still tall as their descendants? Let’s make all of these clear in this blog post.
Key Takeaway
- The average height for males in Iceland is 5 feet 11.5 inches (approx. 182.5 cm), and the average for Icelandic females is 5 feet 6.5 inches (approx. 168.91 cm).
- It is widely believed that 6 feet 4 inches (approx. 195 cm) are considered tall for men in Iceland. On the other hand, Icelandic females standing from 5 feet 9 inches (175.26 cm) are considered tall in this country.
Icelanders are Among World’s Tallest
As per the results from the study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (also known as OECD), people in Iceland are considered among the tallest races in the globe. According to the results, when it comes to medium height, men in Iceland rank 3rd place, shorter than Danes and Dutch males. Icelandic females, on the flip side, rank first among the world’s tallest females.
Accordingly, the average height for females and males is 5 feet 4.5 inches (approx. 164 cm) and 5 feet 9.7 inches (approx. 177 cm), respectively. For women and men in Iceland, the averages are 5 feet 5.7 inches (approx. 167 cm) and 5 feet 10.87 inches (approx. 180 cm), respectively. At the same time, Mexicans are widely known as the shortest people, with the average height of females and males being just 5 feet 0.6 inches (approx. 154 cm) and 5 feet 5.3 inches (approx. 166 cm), respectively.
Other facts were also mentioned in the survey, including:
- Men in Iceland have the longest life expectancy on average, which is 79,4 years.
- People in Iceland have the longest working hours per week, which is 43.9 hours/per week. Dutch people, on the other hand, have the shortest working hours per week, which is just 31.6 hours/per week.
- People in Norway spend most of their free time, more than a quarter of their full day.
- The average sleeping hour a day in France is 9 hours. In addition, people there often spend two hours each day drinking and eating. Americans, on the other hand, just spend 1.25 hours a day eating and drinking and 8.5 hours a day sleeping. Having said that, people in the US are found to have the highest level of obesity.
- When it comes to obesity, Japanese and Koreans are known as the two lowest people having this. This applies to the duration of their nights’ sleep, which is only around 7.8 hours. However, the Japanese tend to spend more of their free time watching TV. In particular, TV accounts for 55% of Japanese leisure time, compared with just 25% for New Zealanders.
- People in Turkey are considered among the most sociable ones all over the world. In particular, the average time they spend entertaining visitors is 35%, which is more than three times higher than the average time that OECD found.
Compared to other countries in the world, the average men height in Iceland is one of the tallest in the world. With an average height of 5 feet 11.5 inches, this is due to their genetic makeup and a diet rich in proteins and nutrients, which has allowed them to grow taller.
Why Are A Lot of Many Giant Men From Small Iceland?
As a lot of you might have heard the sentence regarding this, Iceland makes strong guys. Particularly, of Iceland’s 360,000 citizens alone, an incredible number could really lift extremely heavy objects. Altogether, three Iceland men have won 9 of the 45 strongest men’s world titles.
At the top of this list, just 12 titles are guaranteed by Americans. Having said that, the United States of America, as a lot of you might know, is almost 100 times more widely known than Iceland. So, what is it exactly? Is it because of Viking genes? Why is this mostly uninhabited outpost in the North Atlantic far from its weight category? Well, let’s find out the real reason behind the tallness and bigness of Iceland men.
Iceland Strongman Genes
Generally speaking, on the global height scale, Iceland people always rank in a high position. As a lot of you might know, the average height of Icelandic men is 5 feet 11 inches (approx. 180 cm). Accordingly, this average is 2 inches (approx. 5 cm) taller than that of American males.
As a general rule, a bigger body frame can easily accommodate more muscles to perform kicks and flips. Therefore, all in a long population, you will be more likely to develop “hills,” just like Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, whose height is 6 feet 9 inches (approx. 205.74 cm). What’s more, Iceland was separated for most of the nation’s history. So, in this case, can DNA account for the larger muscles and bones?
In general, Iceland was actually migrated around AD 800 by the Norse Vikings (as well as their serfs coming from the British Isles), but we often idealize Vikings. In reality, almost all people in Iceland can still track forefathers of the Northern European mainland.
Nevertheless, if somebody was known as the descendant of Vikings, what does that imply? Particularly, one thousand two hundred years ago, Norse people had a mean height of 5 feet 6 inches (approx. 172 cm). Even though this was considered the normal height in their period, it was shorter for our time. In addition, even when the strongest and biggest guy plundered, we mostly found Iceland by Norse ranchers.
So, now let’s forget the bearded bullies of the past and fast forward to today. Accordingly, the average height for men in Norway is around 6 feet (approx. 182.4 cm). As a lot of you might know, this average is even taller than that of Iceland men these days.
What’s more, among the top 10 tallest nations all over the world, Eastern and Northern Europe are among the two. In addition, people in the Netherlands are widely known as the tallest ones. And according to a survey in 2015, the possible explanation for this might be that height is an advantageous quality; individuals tend to choose taller partners.
Furthermore, natural selection might also be another element in Iceland. Particularly, heartiness, as a lot of you might know, has always been crucial for enduring severe winters. Besides, strength and height became the pigeonhole of Icelanders; taller and more powerful Vikings had stood a good chance of imparting their genetic makeup to weaker and smaller individuals.
Iceland Strongman Diet
According to O.D. Wilson, he would like to go to Iceland to know what those strong and tall Icelanders have in their meals. Besides, as a few of you might know, the answer is just really simple, including a lot of fish, meat, and dairy.
Accordingly, Icelanders have their conventional foods, and they include a wide range of nutrients from different types of foods. In particular, they are skyr (a type of yogurt-like cheese), a wide range of fish, rye bread, seabirds together with their eggs, and lamb. And you know, most of these foods, yet not all of them, are eaten fresh.
Besides, people in Iceland typically eat approx. 100 gallons of dairy products on average each year, and most of them are in the form of skyr. As a result, they get a lot of whey to grow taller.
So, the concentration on natural and fresh ingredients and the shortage of processed foods, white flour, and sugar certainly affect the overall well-being of Icelanders. In addition, the focus on physical activities from an early age and the reduced level of pollution is among two other elements. According to the statistics from Bloomberg’s 2019 Healthiest Countries Index report, the US ranked 35th while Iceland listed third.
