How tall are Pakistan’s mothers, region by region?

Using measured heights from the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18, mothers of children under 5 average about 5′ 1″.

Regional differences are small:

• Sindh is the shortest at about 5′ 0.5″.
• Punjab, KP and Balochistan sit between 5′ 0.8″ and 5′ 1″.
• Islamabad is about 5′ 1.1″.

Mothers’ height is linked to children’s growth, but this gap is only about half an inch. It cannot explain why child stunting is much higher in Sindh (48%) than in Punjab (27%) in the MICS surveys. Most of that gap lies elsewhere, likely in poverty, food, water and sanitation, and care.

Cautions: height reflects both genes and childhood nutrition, we use one survey, and Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir are unweighted in it. Corrections and thoughts from nutrition experts are welcome.