The Shortest People on Earth

Today’s list focuses on the shortest folks who ever lived. These aren’t your average people who tend to be a little shorter, but people who hold world records for their lack of height.

Chandra Dangi

This Nepalese weaver is one of the shortest people to ever live. Chandra Dangi grew to a top height of 21.5 inches in his lifetime. He was a rather late discovery as well, only being found by a wood contractor doing some work in his village. Curiously, such short height was shared among his siblings. 3 of his brothers were under 4 feet in height, while his remaining 2 brothers and 2 sisters were of average height for Nepal.

Gul Mohammed

Up until 2012, Gul Mohammed held the record as one of the shortest people to ever live. That changed with the discovery of the previous entry. Mohammed only reached a maximum height of 22.4 inches.

Junrey Balawing

Born in the Phillippines, Junrey Balawing once held the record as one of the sole living shortest people in the world at the time. Sadly, that record lapsed following his passing in 2020. It would seem there was a bit of a competition in his lifetime for the title of the world’s shortest man. That eventually would go to Chandra Dangi, the first entry in our list.

Pauline Musters

One of the only entries from the Netherlands, Pauline Musters is the shortest woman to ever live. She came in at 24 inches, nearly 3 inches taller than the shortest man. That said, she is one of the shortest people on this list.

Jyoti Amge

As the current shortest woman alive in the world, Jyoti Amge isn’t far off from the previous entry. She comes in at 24.7 inches in height, making her one of the shortest people to ever live. She is one of the younger people on this list as well, with her 31st birthday due in December of this year.

Istvan Toth

We are back in Europe for a moment with Istvan Toth. While his height isn’t completely verified, it is claimed at 26 inches. Whether this is true or not still puts him in the running as one of the shortest people ever.

Afshin Esmaeil Ghaderzadeh

Our sole entry from Iran is Afshin Ghadzeradeh, measuring 25.69 inches in height. He is the world’s shortest man alive currently, and one of the shortest people to ever live. He’s relatively young as well, with his 22nd birthday coming up in July.

Madge Bester

Until 2018, Madge Bester held the record as the shortest woman alive in the world. However, that record went to Jyoti Amge following her 2018 death. Hailing from South Africa, Madge Bester only came in at 26 inches of height.

Khagendra Thapa Magar

For a brief time, Khagendra Magar was one of the shortest people to ever live. That still holds, but his record as the shortest man alive sadly went to Afsin Ghaderzadeh following Magar’s 2020 death.

Lin Yu-chih

Sadly, Lin Yu-chih needs assistance to get around. However, he does hold the record of the shortest man alive that is non-mobile currently. Measuring 26.6 inches, he is almost an inch taller than his mobile counterpart. Still, that makes for one of the shortest people to exist.

Lucia Zarate

Lucia Zarate once held the claim as the world’s shortest woman, stating her height as 20 inches even. However, despite being one of the world’s shortest people, this was later updated to a more realistic 26.8 inches.

Edward Nino Hernandez

Edward Hernandez can safely say he’s the shortest man in all of Colombia. Measuring 27.64 inches, he was the shortest man alive for a time. That changed with the discovery of Afshin Ghaderzadeh in 2022.

Elif Kocaman

Originally from Turkey, Elif Kocaman held the record as the shortest woman alive for a time. Measuring 28.58 inches, she had fairly stout competition from Jyoti Amge. Kocaman is also one of the younger entries on this list, having been born in 1989.

Dor Bahadur Khapangi

Dor Khapangi also hails from Nepal, the like the shortest person to ever live. However, he is a bit taller, coming in at 28.91 inches. Khapangi once held the record of the shortest teenager alive. He is still one of the shortest people to ever exist, but he’s got stiff competition from other men in the same category these days.

He Pingping

Rounding out our list is He Pingping from mainland China. He held the record as the shortest man alive with mobility for a good while and measured 29 inches. This persisted until his unfortunate death in 2010. Sadly, it seems that such extreme height variances can result in some serious health issues.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Nolte Lourens/Shutterstock.com.