These Are the Countries With the Tallest Women in the World

It's no secret that your height can affect the course of your life. Tall people are more likely to have a higher standard of living, to be educated, make more money and to be employed in a skilled position, according to a 2016 study from the British Medical Journal.

However, the study found that this correlation between height and success were more pronounced for men—for women, weight was a bigger factor. Women with a higher BMI (Body Mass Index) tended to have lower incomes.

Looking through other research, it appears the so-called 'height privilege,' or likelihood of better life outcomes for tall people, is slightly blunted for tall women. Tall men are seen as desirable romantic partners, according to a 2014 study in the Journal of Family Issues, but men tend to rate shorter women as more attractive.

Still, a YouGov poll of British people found that men believe the ideal woman is 5 feet and 6 inches tall—that's more than the U.K's average height of 5 feet 4.7 inches.

One of the few parities to be found between statuesque men and women are the health risks of being tall. Cancer risks are increased for both genders, with tall women being at particular risk of developing melanoma, as well as breast, ovarian and other cancers, according to the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

While it's certainly not as much of a privilege to be a tall woman as it is being a tall man, height is still a desired attribute. British women tended to tell YouGov that they'd like to be two inches taller.

In 2004, psychologists at the universities of Liverpool and Central Lancashire found that tall women were judged as being more intelligent, assertive, independent and ambitious, while short women were seen as more nurturing. No wonder so many businesswomen wear heels.

Using data from the journal eLife, which has tracked global growth trends since 1914, we've listed the countries with the tallest mean female height for women born in 1996. European nations, and countries with a majority of citizens of European descent, dominate the list, with a few appearances from Caribbean and Polynesian nations.

While the Netherlands has the tallest men, Dutch women are pushed into second place by a fellow European country. These are the 50 countries that have the tallest women, along with their mean height.