Chinese people have made remarkable progress on global height ranking over the past century. [Photo/IC]

People on the Chinese mainland have made significant progress in the global ranking of height over the past century, new research shows.

The average height of men on the Chinese mainland (171.8cm) is ranked 93rd globally, while women (160cm) have come in at 87th, according to the research published in the journal eLife on Tuesday.

The study has tracked the growth trends of human height over the past century. It measured the height of more than 18.6 million participants born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries and regions.

The survey shows that men on the Chinese mainland born in 1896 stood at 161cm, ranking 130th globally, while women (150.2cm) ranked 134th.

Compared to their neighbors, men on the Chinese mainland are slightly taller than Japanese (men: 170.8cm; women: 158.3cm), but smaller than people from the Republic of Korea (men: 174.9; women: 159.8) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (men: 172cm; women: 159cm).

Across the world, men in the Netherlands (182.5cm) and women in Latvia (170cm) are the tallest, while the smallest men on earth are found in East Timor (160cm) and the shortest women in Guatemala (150cm).

When it comes to change in height, Iranian men and South Korean women recorded the largest gain over the past century, growing taller by 16.5cm and 20cm.

Adults in the US have seen a major decline in their global height ranking, with men dropping from 3rd to 37th and women from 4th to 42nd.

The research was carried out by the NCD Rick Factor Collaboration, a network of health scientists which provides data on risk factors for non-communicable diseases.

It said that taller people generally lived longer, and were less likely to suffer from heart disease or stroke. However, they are more likely to develop some cancers.

Next page: Figure for adult height.