Is 185cm and 183cm tall in Australia
Executive summary
Both 185 cm and 183 cm are taller than the typical Australian adult male when measured against national and international estimates: historical Australian Bureau of Statistics reporting put the average adult male at 175.6 cm in 2011–12 (ABS) [1], while more recent collations and projections place the average around 178–182 cm depending on the source and cohort [2] [3] [4], meaning 183 cm is modestly above average and 185 cm is clearly tall by Australian standards.
1. What the official benchmarks say about “average” height in Australia
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) — the authoritative national source cited in the reporting — recorded an average height for Australian men (18+) of 175.6 cm in 2011–12, a baseline that still informs many contemporary comparisons [1]; other institutions and aggregators using broader international datasets show higher, more recent averages (for example 178.8 cm and roughly 179 cm), reflecting ongoing generational increases [3] [5] and demonstrating that what counts as “average” depends on which dataset and year are used [2].
2. Recent estimates and projections nudge the average upward, but not into the 180s for most men
Multiple secondary analyses and projections referenced in the reporting suggest average male height in Australia has crept upward: Population.net.au cites an estimate of about 182 cm for Australian men by 2025 based on growth trends [4], while health outlets and population compilers list figures near 178–179 cm [2] [3] [5]. Those differences matter: if using the 182 cm projection, a man at 183 cm is barely above average and 185 cm is modestly taller; if using ABS’s older 175.6 cm, both 183 cm and 185 cm would be markedly taller than average [1] [4].
3. Age cohorts, methodology and population mix change the meaning of “tall”
Height distributions are not static: younger cohorts in Australia are taller than older ones — the reporting notes, for example, that 18–24-year-old men average about 177.8 cm while those over 75 average about 169.7 cm, a cohort spread of more than 8 cm [4]. International datasets such as Our World In Data and global compilations used by medical centers and media also produce different national averages depending on sample years, measurement methods and whether they adjust for cohort effects, so any single number should be read as a snapshot rather than a definitive threshold for “tall” [6] [2].
4. Practical interpretation: are 185 cm and 183 cm “tall” in everyday terms?
On everyday social and practical scales in Australia — where recent estimates cluster between about 176 cm and 182 cm [1] [3] [4] — someone who is 183 cm will typically be perceived as taller-than-average but not unusually tall, while someone who is 185 cm will commonly be called tall; both heights fall above the mid-to-late-range of current average estimates and, depending on which benchmark is chosen, can be described as modestly to clearly taller than the national mean [4] [3].
5. Limits of the available reporting and how to judge such claims
The sources provided are a mix of official ABS reporting from 2011–12, independent aggregators and health outlets that rely on broader international studies and projections [1] [4] [2] [3], which means there is inevitable variation by year, sample and method — reporting does not converge to a single contemporaneous government figure for 2025–26 in these snippets. The cautious conclusion, grounded in the cited material, is that both 183 cm and 185 cm exceed the traditional ABS average and sit at or above most recent estimations, with 185 cm unambiguously tall and 183 cm modestly so [1] [4] [3].