Foot Sizes Around the World: How They Vary by Country, Gender, and Era

Foot size is one of those things that seems straightforward until you start looking at the data. It varies by region, by gender, by generation — and it's been changing over time in ways that researchers are still working to fully explain.

Here's what the anthropometric data tells us about foot sizes across the globe.

Average Foot Sizes: The Global Picture

Foot size data comes from anthropometric surveys, military measurement programs, shoe industry databases, and body scanning projects like SizeUSA, SizeUK, and CAESAR (the Civilian American and European Surface Anthropometry Resource).

Use the interactive chart below to explore regional averages by gender.

The patterns are clear: populations with taller average stature tend to have larger average feet. Northern European and North American populations — particularly the Dutch, Scandinavians, and Americans — report the largest averages. East and Southeast Asian populations tend to report smaller averages, correlating with generally smaller average frame size. Central and South American, Southern European, and African populations fall across a wide middle range.

Within every region, individual variation is enormous. Averages tell you about populations, not people.

Sources: SizeUSA; SizeUK; CAESAR anthropometric database; World Footwear Yearbook

Feet Are Getting Bigger — Everywhere

One of the most consistent findings in anthropometric research: feet have been growing across nearly all studied populations over the past several decades.

In the US, the average men's shoe size has increased from roughly 9.5 in the 1960s to 10.5 today. Women's average shifted from about 7.5 to 8.5 over the same period. Similar trends are documented in the UK, China, Japan, and elsewhere.

What's driving it:

Improved nutrition — better childhood nutrition leads to larger overall body size, including feet. Populations with the biggest nutritional improvements show the most dramatic foot size increases.

Rising average BMI — heavier bodies place more weight on the feet, which can cause them to spread slightly wider and longer over time.

Earlier puberty — the average age of puberty onset has decreased in many countries, potentially extending the growth window.

Better measurement — like bra sizes, some of the apparent increase reflects people being measured accurately for the first time rather than squeezing into whatever was available.

Sources: Foot & Ankle International; Journal of Foot and Ankle Research

The Width Problem Nobody Talks About

Most foot size conversations focus on length, but width is equally important — and even more poorly standardized.

US sizing uses letters (B for standard women's, D for standard men's, with wider options like EE or 4E). European sizing generally doesn't encode width at all. The result: millions of people wearing shoes that are the right length but the wrong width.

If your shoes feel tight but the length seems right, the problem is almost certainly width. Unfortunately, width options remain limited in most retail environments.

What About the Shoe Size Systems Themselves?

Here's where it gets absurd. A US 10 is a UK 9, an EU 44, a Japanese 28, and a Korean 280. Same foot, five different numbers, zero intuitive logic connecting them.

Every major market uses a different system, and despite an international standard existing (ISO 9407), virtually no consumer footwear actually uses it. The result is confusion every time you shop across borders.

We break down exactly how each system works — and built an interactive converter to eliminate the guesswork — in our companion article: The Shoe Sizing Chaos, Explained (Plus an Interactive Converter That Actually Works) →

This article is for informational purposes only.