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Height Converter

Everyday

Convert height between centimetres, feet and inches instantly. Perfect for medical forms, passport applications, and fitness tracking use cases.

Reviewed by the thecalcu.com team · Last updated August 1, 2026

cm
50 cm250 cm
⇄
feet (ft)
inches (in)
Feet & Inches
5′ 6.9″
Centimetres
170.0 cm
Metres
1.7 m
Feet (decimal)
5.58 ft
Total Inches
66.9 in
Common Height Reference

What is a Height?

A Height Converter translates height measurements instantly between centimetres (cm), feet and inches (ft+in), metres (m), and decimal feet, in both directions. Enter a height in centimetres and see the feet-and-inches equivalent immediately, or enter feet and inches and get the precise centimetre value. The converter also includes a reference table of common heights from 150 cm to 190 cm, clickable for instant lookup.

Height is one of the most frequently converted measurements in everyday Indian life. A doctor records your height as 172 cm; a matrimonial profile asks for it in feet and inches; a US visa form wants it in feet and inches; a gym trainer discusses it in both. Most Indians have memorised their height in one system but must convert constantly for forms, profiles, and international comparisons, making a fast, accurate height converter one of the most used everyday tools online.

The conversion is mathematically simple but error-prone to do mentally. The key constant is 2.54 cm per inch, with 12 inches per foot. Converting 168 cm to feet-inches requires dividing by 2.54 (= 66.14 inches), dividing by 12 (= 5 remainder 6.14), and rounding the inches, three steps where each rounding introduces error. The Height Converter does all of this precisely and instantly.

India's dual-system reality means height conversions touch daily life in ways unique to the subcontinent. The BMI Calculator uses height in metres; the Ideal Weight Calculator uses both systems; growth charts use centimetres; and social contexts use feet. This converter bridges all of them in a single tool.

Why Use a Height Converter?

Matrimonial profiles. Shaadi.com, Jeevansathi, and similar platforms display height in feet and inches. If you know your height in centimetres from a doctor's visit, the converter gives you the exact feet-and-inches value to enter on your profile, correctly, not from memory.

Medical and government forms. Passport applications, school admissions, insurance forms, and fitness assessments in India ask for height in centimetres. If you only know your height in feet and inches, convert in seconds without guessing.

International travel and visa applications. The US DS-160, UK visa, and Schengen forms ask for height in feet and inches. Australian forms use centimetres. Knowing the exact conversion prevents the common error of writing 5'10" when you are actually 5'11" (or vice versa).

Health calculations. BMI, ideal body weight, and basal metabolic rate all require height. The Height Converter gives you the metre value needed for the BMI formula alongside the feet-and-inches value, so you can move directly to the BMI Calculator with the right input.

Who Should Use This Calculator?

Job seekers and students filling out online forms for government services, competitive exams (SSC, UPSC, defence), and international applications where height must be stated in a specific unit.

Parents tracking children's growth who receive height measurements in centimetres from paediatricians but want to compare against family heights described in feet and inches.

Fitness enthusiasts who use international workout apps, diet platforms, or health trackers built for US/UK markets that require height in feet and inches.

NRIs and expats who grew up measuring in centimetres but live in countries where feet and inches is the everyday standard, and need to convert for medical appointments, driving licences, or casual conversation.

Matrimonial platform users across India, the most common specific use case, given that all major Indian matrimonial sites use feet and inches as the display standard.

What Insights Does the Height Converter Give You?

Feet & Inches is the primary output, the height expressed as whole feet and decimal inches (e.g., 5 ft 7.1 in), matching the format used on matrimonial profiles and international forms.

Centimetres is the medical and government standard in India, your height as measured by a doctor, shown to one decimal place for precision.

Metres is the SI unit required for BMI, body surface area, and most scientific calculations, directly usable in health calculators.

Feet (decimal) is the engineering and surveying format, the height as a single decimal number of feet, used in some technical contexts.

Total Inches is the full height expressed as a single number of inches, used in some US medical contexts and clothing size charts.

Reference Table shows 14 common heights from 150–190 cm with their feet-and-inches equivalents. Click any row to instantly load that height into the converter, useful for quick lookups without typing.

How to use this Height calculator

  1. Enter height in cm, type or use the slider. The feet-and-inches result updates instantly.
  2. Enter height in feet and inches, type into the feet field and the inches field. The centimetre result updates instantly.
  3. Read all conversions, the result card shows feet+inches, cm, metres, decimal feet, and total inches simultaneously.
  4. Use the reference table, click any common height to load it instantly. Useful when you know your height is "somewhere around 5'8"" and want the exact centimetre value.

Formula & Methodology

cm to feet and inches:
Total inches = cm ÷ 2.54
Feet = floor(Total inches ÷ 12)
Inches = (Total inches mod 12), rounded to 1 decimal

cm to metres:
Metres = cm ÷ 100

Feet and inches to cm:
cm = (Feet × 12 + Inches) × 2.54

Key constants:
1 inch = 2.54 cm (exact, by international definition since 1959)
1 foot = 12 inches = 30.48 cm
1 metre = 100 cm = 3.28084 ft = 39.3701 inches

Worked example, matrimonial profile:
A man visits his doctor and is measured at 177 cm. His matrimonial profile asks for height in feet and inches.

Total inches = 177 ÷ 2.54 = 69.685 inches
Feet = floor(69.685 ÷ 12) = floor(5.807) = 5 feet
Inches = 69.685 − (5 × 12) = 69.685 − 60 = 9.7 inches (≈ 9¾ in, stated as 9 in on most forms)

Result: 5 ft 10 in on the matrimonial profile (rounding 9.7 to the nearest whole inch gives 10).

In metres: 177 ÷ 100 = 1.77 m, the value to use in the BMI Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Divide centimetres by 2.54 to get total inches, then divide by 12 to get feet. The whole number is the feet part; multiply the remainder by 12 to get the inches part. For example, 170 cm ÷ 2.54 = 66.93 inches total; 66.93 ÷ 12 = 5 feet with 6.93 inches remaining, giving 5 ft 7 in. The Height Converter handles this instantly, just enter your height in cm or feet and inches.
5 feet 7 inches = (5 × 12 + 7) × 2.54 = 67 × 2.54 = 170.18 cm, usually rounded to 170 cm. A quick mental shortcut: multiply feet by 30.48 and add inches multiplied by 2.54. The Height Converter lets you enter the feet and inches directly and shows the exact centimetre value immediately.
6 feet = 6 × 30.48 = 182.88 cm, commonly rounded to 183 cm. In Indian matrimonial profiles and height descriptions, 183 cm is the standard way to state a 6 ft height. The exact conversion is 1 foot = 30.48 cm, so any height in feet can be multiplied by 30.48 to get centimetres.
Indian passports list height in centimetres. US, UK, and Australian immigration forms typically use feet and inches. To convert: cm to feet-inches, use the Height Converter; for feet-inches to cm, enter your feet and inches and read off the cm value. For a passport, round to the nearest whole centimetre. For most visa forms, round to the nearest whole inch.
According to National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data, the average height of adult Indian men is approximately 164–166 cm (5 ft 5 in) and adult Indian women is approximately 151–153 cm (4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 0 in). These figures are increasing across successive generations due to improved nutrition. Heights in urban metros tend to be 2–4 cm higher than the national average.
5 feet 4 inches = (5 × 12 + 4) × 2.54 = 64 × 2.54 = 162.56 cm, commonly stated as 163 cm. This height is close to the average for Indian women and is a very common search for matrimonial profile conversions. The Height Converter shows this and all other intermediate heights in the reference table.
Decimal feet (e.g., 5.75 ft) expresses the entire height as a single number with a decimal fraction, used in some engineering and surveying contexts. Feet-and-inches (e.g., 5 ft 9 in) is the everyday format used in the US, UK, and in Indian matrimonial and personal descriptions. The two are not interchangeable: 5.75 ft means 5 ft 9 in (since 0.75 × 12 = 9 inches). The Height Converter shows both formats simultaneously.
BMI (Body Mass Index) requires height in metres. To convert: cm ÷ 100 = metres. A height of 175 cm = 1.75 m. Then BMI = Weight (kg) ÷ Height (m)². Use the [BMI Calculator](/bmi-calculator/) with your height in cm, it handles the metre conversion internally. The Height Converter also shows the metre equivalent for any cm or feet-inches input.
Height in feet and inches is a legacy of British colonial influence on Indian social customs, it persists in matrimonial listings, sports commentary, and casual conversation. Medical practice in India has adopted the SI system, so hospitals, health check forms, and growth charts use centimetres. The result is that most Indians instinctively know their height in both systems, and convert frequently between the two.
The US DS-160 visa application form asks for height in feet and inches. If you know your height in centimetres, use the Height Converter: enter your cm height and read off the feet-and-inches result. Enter the feet number in the 'Feet' field and the whole-number inches (round to nearest inch) in the 'Inches' field on the form. Do not enter decimal inches, 170 cm = 5 ft 7 in (not 5 ft 6.9 in).
No, 5 feet 11 inches = 71 inches × 2.54 = 180.34 cm, which rounds to 180 cm. But 180 cm exactly converts to 5 feet 10.87 inches, which rounds to 5 ft 11 in. So in practice, 5'11" and 180 cm are used interchangeably, but the precise equivalents are 5'11" = 180.34 cm and 180 cm = 5'10.87". The Height Converter shows the precise decimal so you can decide how to round for any specific form or context.
Also known as
cm to feetfeet to cmheight in feet inchesheight conversioncm to inches height