Cm to Feet: Height Conversion Explained (Formula and Chart)
Convert centimeters to feet-and-inches for height, using the exact 1 ft = 30.48 cm ratio. Includes a full height chart from 140 cm to 200 cm.
Height is where "cm to feet" comes up most often. It sits in the awkward gap between full metric (most of the world's medical records and passports) and the imperial feet-and-inches format still used casually in the US, UK, and Ireland. Because heights are compound values — 5 ft 8 in, not "5.67 ft" — the conversion has an extra step.
The formula
feet = centimeters ÷ 30.48
That's the simple decimal form. For height, we usually want feet *and* inches:
- Divide cm by 30.48 → full decimal feet
- Take the whole number → feet
- Multiply the decimal remainder by 12 → inches
*Example:* 170 cm. 170 ÷ 30.48 = 5.5774 → 5 ft 0.5774 × 12 = 6.93 → ≈ 7 in So 170 cm ≈ 5 ft 7 in.
The ratio itself is exact: since 1 in = 2.54 cm (see our cm to inches guide), 1 ft = 12 × 2.54 = 30.48 cm — no rounding.
Height chart
| Centimeters | Feet & inches |
|---|---|
| 140 cm | 4 ft 7 in |
| 150 cm | 4 ft 11 in |
| 155 cm | 5 ft 1 in |
| 160 cm | 5 ft 3 in |
| 165 cm | 5 ft 5 in |
| 170 cm | 5 ft 7 in |
| 175 cm | 5 ft 9 in |
| 180 cm | 5 ft 11 in |
| 185 cm | 6 ft 1 in |
| 190 cm | 6 ft 3 in |
| 200 cm | 6 ft 7 in |
For any value in between, the Cm to Feet converter returns both the decimal and the compound feet-and-inches form.
Average heights around the world
For context: according to NCD-RisC height data, average adult male height in 2019 ranged from about 160 cm (5 ft 3 in) in some south-east Asian countries to 184 cm (6 ft 0 in) in the Netherlands. Average adult female height ran from about 150 cm to 171 cm across the same dataset. Averages have risen roughly 8–10 cm over the last century in industrialised countries, largely tracking nutrition in early childhood — see the Our World in Data page on human height for the long-run trend.
Where the foot came from
Like the inch, the foot descends from body-based measurements — literally, the length of a foot. Ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and English versions all differed by a few centimeters. The international foot) of exactly 0.3048 m was standardised in 1959 by the same treaty that unified the pound and the inch.
Until 2023, US land surveys used a slightly longer "US survey foot" (about 2 ppm larger). It has now been officially retired by NIST in favour of the international foot for all federal use.
Common pitfalls
- Rounding the wrong direction. 170 cm converts to 5.5774 ft, which rounds to *5 ft 7 in* — not 5 ft 8 in. Always round the inches, not the total feet.
- Confusing metric and US survey feet. In everyday life, always use the international foot (30.48 cm exactly). The survey foot only matters for legacy land records.
- Using 30 cm instead of 30.48. A shortcut sometimes taught in schools. It's off by 1.6%, or about 3 cm on a 6-foot adult — enough to change your rounded height by an inch.
FAQ
How tall is 170 cm in feet and inches? 5 ft 7 in (5.577 ft precisely).
Is 6 feet exactly 183 cm? Very nearly — 6 ft = 182.88 cm. "183 cm" is the standard rounded equivalent used on driving licences and passports.
What if I need cm to just feet, no inches? Divide by 30.48 and keep the decimal: 170 cm = 5.58 ft. The Cm to Feet converter shows both formats.
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*For an exact height in either format — decimal or feet-and-inches — the free Cm to Feet Converter does the calculation instantly.*