List of the verified shortest people


This list includes the shortest ever verified people in their lifetime or profession. The entries below are broken down into different categories which range from sex, to age group and occupations. Most of the sourcing is done by Guinness World Records which in the last decade has added new categories for "mobile" and "non mobile" men and women. The world's shortest verified man is Chandra Bahadur Dangi, while for women Pauline Musters holds the record.
was, at the time of his death in 2015, the world's shortest person ever verified.

Men

NationalityHeightNameNotesLifespan
NepalChandra Bahadur DangiChandra was declared the shortest human adult ever documented and verified, measuring. Height confirmed by Guinness World Records.1939–2015
IndiaGul MohammedGuinness World Records verified Mohammed's height at. He was the shortest man ever verified up to 2012, when he lost the title to Chandra Bahadur Dangi.1957–1997
PhilippinesJunrey BalawingFormer shortest living man in the world, measuring, verified by Guinness World Records in 2012. Balawing became the world's shortest living person again following Chandra's death in September, 2015, but is non-mobile.1993–
HungaryIstván TóthShortest man claimant, was said to be. Verification by Guinness World Records needs to be checked. István died in May 2011 at the age of 48.1963–2011
NepalKhagendra Thapa MagarKhagendra was the shortest man in the world until 2011, when he became the world's shortest mobile man. Guinness World Records has since made multiple categories for World's shortest....1992–2020
TaiwanLin Yü-chihFormer shortest man in the world until 2009.1972–
ColombiaEdward Niño HernándezNamed the shortest man after Pingping died in March 2010, at, but lost the title in October 2010 to Magar.1986–
ChinaHe PingpingOnce officially verified as shortest living man at, until death in March 2010.1988–2010

Women

NationalityHeightNameNoteLifespan
NetherlandsPauline MustersRecognised by the Guinness World Records as the shortest woman ever recorded.1876–1895
Lucía ZárateShortest woman claimant and the earliest studied example of microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II. Still under review.1864–1890
IndiaJyoti AmgeRecognized by the Guinness World Records as the World's Shortest Living Woman.1993–
South AfricaMadge BesterFormer smallest living woman.1963–2018
USBridgette JordanFormer smallest living woman and one of the shortest living siblings according to Guinness World Records.1989–2019
TurkeyHatice KocamanFormer smallest living woman according to Guinness World Records.1989–

Shortest pairs

NationalityHeightNameCategoryNotesLifespan
HungaryMike & Ike MatinaNon identical twinsMike & Ike Matina are the world's shortest non identical twins at 30 inches each. They later became American citizens, and had a role in The Wizard of Oz as munchkins. Mike Matina died in 1954. His brother's death is unknown due to a lack of sources.1901–1954
1901–N/A
USARice brothersIdentical twinsWorld's shortest identical twins until 2005 with the death of John Rice.1951–2005
1951 –
Brazil
Paulo Gabriel Barros &
Katyucia Hoshino		Married coupleIn 2016, Guinness World Records awarded the title of Shortest Married Couple to Paulo, and Katyucia from Brazil.1985–
1988–

Shortest by age group

NationalityHeightNameCategoryNotesLifespan
USANisa JuarezBabyWas born 108 days premature and weighed only.2002–
United StatesFrancis Joseph FlynnTeenagerGeneral Mite, was an American dwarf who performed as a showman at various competitions around the world. In 1884, Flynn married English little person, Millie Edwards, in England. The wedding was widely publicized and attended. From then on, the couple were exhibited as the "Royal American Midgets" and "General and Mrs. Mite" in many advertisements.1864–1898
United StatesStacey HeraldMotherStacey gave birth to her first child on 21 October 2006, and later birthed two more children all of which were delivered by caesarean sections. She died on September 11th 2018.1974–2018
HungarySusanna BokoyniLongevityBokoyni died at the age of 105, making her the oldest verified centenarian dwarf. During her lifetime she travelled with various circuses where she was a performer.1879–1984

This was Nisa's baby height, she later grew.
This was Francis Joseph Flynn's shortest height, because he grew in height after age 16; he is not listed as one of the world's shortest men.
Filed under "Shortest woman to give birth".

Shortest by occupation

Actors

NationalityHeightNameNoteLifespan
Dominican RepublicNelson de la RosaOnce recognized as the "world's shortest actor" and had a minor role in the 1996 film, The Island of Dr. Moreau.1968–2006
IndiaAjay Kumar alias PakruMalayalam comedy actor, in the Guinness Book of Records for being the shortest actor to play a main character in a full-length film. He played the lead role in Athbhutha Dweepu, a Malayalam film directed by Vinayan, later dubbed in Tamil.1974–
USATamara De TreauxShortest actress, noted for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and as an influence for the novel Maybe the Moon.1959–1990
Weng WengFilipino actor and martial artist who was the shortest actor to have lead roles.1957–1992
United KingdomKiran ShahShah is the world's shortest active stuntman.1956–

Artists and writers

NationalityHeightNameNoteLifespan
EnglandAlexander PopeEnglish poet and satirist, never grew beyond 4 ft 6 in.1688–1744
FranceÉdith PiafFrench singer and actress, never grew beyond 4 ft 8 in. Known for her small stature, born Edith Gassion, nicknamed Piaf, Parisian slang for "Little Sparrow"1915–1963

Athletes

NationalityHeightNameSportNoteLifespan
IndiaAditya "Romeo" DevBodybuilding"World's Smallest Bodybuilder" at 2 ft. 9 in.1988–2012
Henry FranklynIce hockeyA 3-feet, 6-inch tall goaltender, possibly the smallest notable person in ice hockey history.Late 19th century
USAEddie GaedelBaseballShortest to play in Major League Baseball. This however was a publicity stunt and Gaedel only stood once at the plate.1925–1961
CanadaLionel GirouxWrestlingAlso known as "Little Beaver". Shortest professional wrestler in the WWF at around 4'4".1935–1995
USADylan PostlWrestlingWorlds shortest living professional wrestler.1986–
USAJulie KroneHorse racingShortest American jockey, stand 4 ft 10.5 in.1963–
EnglandTich CornfordCricketShortest ever international cricketer.1900–1964
AustraliaJim BradfordAustralian rules footballShortest to play Australian rules football at the highest level.1926–2005
USAJack ShapiroAmerican footballShortest professional player of American football, but only for one game.1907–2001
United KingdomFrederick WaldenAssociation footballShortest player in England national football team history.1888–1949
USAShannon BobbittBasketballShortest to play in the Women's National Basketball Association.1985–
USAMuggsy BoguesBasketballShortest at 5 ft 3 in to play in the National Basketball Association.1965–
Roy WortersIce hockeyShortest to play in the National Hockey League and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969.1900–1957
USATrindon HollidayAmerican footballShortest active player at 5 ft 5 in in the National Football League.1986–
VenezuelaJosé AltuveBaseballShortest active player at 5 ft 5 in in Major League Baseball.1984–

Politicians

NationalityHeightNameNoteLifespan
USACharley LockhartShortest public official in America, when he was sworn in as Texas State Treasurer in 1931.1876–1954
Benito JuárezReportedly the shortest world leader to have height recorded. He was reportedly 4 ft 6 in or 1.37 meters1806–1872
ItalyVictor Emmanuel III of ItalyShortest king of Italy.1869–1947
USAJames MadisonShortest US President at 5 ft 4 in or 1.63 m.1751–1836
PHIGloria Macapagal ArroyoShortest Philippine President at 4 ft 11 in or 1.50 m.1947–

Others

NationalityHeightNameOccupationNoteLifespan
FranceRichebourgSpyRichebourg was a secret agent during the French Revolution, who disguised himself as an infant to pass information along.1768-1858
Soviet UnionYuri GagarinCosmonautFirst and shortest human to go into space.1934-1968