What is the average erect and flaccid penis length and girth worldwide?

1. What the best-reviewed medical summaries report

A 2015 systematic review of measured data—commonly cited in overviews—reported an average erect length of 13.12 cm (5.17 in) and an average erect circumference of 11.66 cm (4.59 in); it also reported flaccid length near 9.16 cm and stretched length around 13.24 cm, all measured by health professionals rather than self-report ^[1]. Recent accessible medical summaries and health sites restate a similar range for erect length (about 5.1–5.5 in) and note erect girth of roughly 11.7–12.0 cm ^{[2] [3]}.

2. Why reported averages differ between sources

Differences across sites stem from data sources and adjustments: some compilations combine measured studies (Veale et al. and similar) with self-reported surveys and apply correction factors for over-reporting; others present only measured-study averages or meta-analyses ^{[5] [1]}. A systematic review published through February 2024 warns of “lack of standardization for measuring penis size” and heterogeneity across studies, which can produce systematic bias ^[4].

3. Flaccid vs. erect — and why flaccid is less reliable

Flaccid length is highly variable with ambient temperature, anxiety, recent activity and arousal; therefore flaccid measurements are a poor predictor of erect length for many men. Measured flaccid averages reported in reviews are around 8.8–9.2 cm, while stretched and erect lengths converge near 13 cm in many measured studies ^[1].

4. Global compilations, rankings and their caveats

Several data aggregators and country-rankings (Data Pandas, World Population Review, Visual Capitalist and others) present country-by-country maps and give global averages near 13.1–13.9 cm for erect length; these projects may also adjust self-reports with heuristics (for example, Data Pandas applied a fixed reduction to self-reported lengths) and therefore produce slightly different “global averages” ^{[5] [6] [7]}. Such compilations are useful for broad comparisons but inherit the original studies’ measurement inconsistencies ^{[5] [4]}.

5. Girth (circumference): what the data show

Measured-data reviews list erect circumference near 11.66 cm (4.59 in) and some summaries round that to ~12.0 cm (4.7 in); some online summaries report 12.0 cm as a global figure while other aggregators give 11.7–11.8 cm depending on included sources ^{[1] [3] [8]}. As with length, girth estimates vary with where the circumference is measured (base vs mid-shaft) and differences in measurement protocol ^[1].

6. Measurement standards and common methodological problems

Researchers note key methodological issues: self-reported measurements typically overestimate size; the position of measurement (compressing pubic fat pad to the bone or not) changes length; flaccid vs stretched vs erect definitions differ; and sample sizes per country are often small or non-representative. A formal meta-analysis explicitly points to the lack of standardized measurement methods as a serious limitation ^{[4] [1]}.

7. Bottom line and how to interpret these numbers

If you want a single, evidence-rooted range from measured research, use about 13.1 cm (5.1 in) for erect length and ~11.7 cm (4.6–4.7 in) for erect girth, with flaccid length averaging near 9 cm—while remembering that different datasets and correction methods produce slightly different global averages ^{[1] [3] [5]}. Any country rankings or finer claims should be read with caution because of small samples, mixed measurement protocols, and adjustments applied to self-reports ^{[4] [5]}.

Limitations: available sources consistently highlight measurement heterogeneity and sampling bias; they do not provide a single universally accepted “worldwide average” free of methodological dispute ^{[4] [1]}.