The line graph compares the average height of women born between 1946 and 1996 in four European countries: the Netherlands, Latvia, Sweden and France.
Overall, women in all four countries became taller over the period, although the rate of increase varied. The Netherlands consistently had the tallest women, while France recorded the shortest average height throughout the 50-year span.
In 1946, the average height of Dutch women stood at about 166 cm, noticeably higher than that of the other three nations, which ranged between 161 cm in France and 165 cm in Sweden. From that point, the Netherlands experienced steady growth, peaking at nearly 169 cm among the 1966 cohort and then levelling off thereafter. Sweden followed a similar upward trend, rising from 165 cm in 1946 to around 167 cm in 1976, though it subsequently declined slightly to about 166 cm by 1996.
Latvia, which began at approximately 164 cm, showed consistent and uninterrupted growth, overtaking Sweden by the late 1980s. By 1996, Latvian women reached close to 170 cm, nearly matching the Dutch average. France, meanwhile, had the lowest figures throughout the period. Although French women grew from 161 cm in 1946 to about 164 cm in 1976, their height stabilised afterwards, leaving them significantly shorter than women in the other three countries.
In summary, while Dutch women remained the tallest on average, Latvian women showed the most remarkable gains, eventually catching up with the Netherlands, whereas French women lagged behind the rest.