Sultan Kösen of Türkiye is the tallest living person in the world, standing 8 ft 2.8 in (251 cm), a title Guinness World Records has held for him since 2011 (Guinness World Records). He’s shorter than the tallest person ever recorded, American Robert Wadlow, who reached 8 ft 11.1 in (272 cm) before his death in 1940.
That distinction — living versus all-time — trips people up constantly. Kösen holds the record among people alive today. Wadlow’s number is the one nothing since has come close to touching.
Guinness reconfirmed Kösen’s status as recently as early 2026, when a new documentary followed him back to London for a round of medical tests (Guinness World Records, 2026).
Key Takeaways
- Sultan Kösen is the world’s tallest living person at 8 ft 2.8 in (251 cm).
- He’s from Türkiye and has held the tallest-living-man title since 2009, with his current height confirmed in 2011.
- His height comes from pituitary gigantism — a tumor causing excess growth hormone.
- Robert Wadlow, an American, remains the tallest verified person ever at 8 ft 11.1 in (272 cm).
- Rumeysa Gelgi, also of Türkiye, is the tallest living woman at 7 ft 0.7 in (215.16 cm).
Who Is the Tallest Person in the World Right Now?
Sultan Kösen holds that title right now, and has for well over a decade. Born December 10, 1982, in Mardin, Türkiye, he was first measured by Guinness World Records in 2009 at 8 ft 1 in (246.5 cm), which made him the first person over 8 feet tall to be measured in more than 20 years (Guinness World Records).
Two years later, a re-measurement in Ankara put him at his current 8 ft 2.8 in (251 cm), and that’s the number that’s stuck ever since.
“Right now” here means tallest verified living person — a category Guinness tracks separately from the all-time record, since new measurements and new claimants surface periodically, but few hold up under scrutiny. Kösen’s has, repeatedly.
How Tall Is Sultan Kösen?
At 8 ft 2.8 in (251 cm), Kösen is roughly a foot taller than an NBA-regulation basketball hoop’s rim height of 10 feet — well, not quite, but he’d only need to hop up a bit to touch it flat-footed. A standard U.S. interior doorway runs about 6 ft 8 in, meaning Kösen clears the frame by close to 19 inches.
Put another way: he’s taller than two average American 10-year-olds stacked on top of each other, give or take.
That kind of height creates everyday friction most people never think about. Finding shoes, fitting into a standard car, sleeping in a normal-length bed — all of it takes custom solutions when your frame runs half a foot past most doorways.
Why Is Sultan Kösen So Tall?
Kösen’s height is caused by pituitary gigantism, a rare condition where a tumor on the pituitary gland triggers the overproduction of growth hormone. He grew up in an average-height farming family and didn’t start his growth spurt until around age 10 — the tumor, not his genes, drove what followed (Guinness World Records).
Left untreated, that kind of tumor keeps producing growth hormone indefinitely, which is part of why gigantism cases can reach such extremes. Kösen eventually received treatment to bring his hormone levels under control and stop further growth.
Doctors at the University of Virginia noted in 2010 that his actual height might run slightly higher than his official measurement, since scoliosis and posture changes linked to his condition may shave a bit off how tall he measures standing up (Wikipedia, citing University of Virginia findings, 2010). Guinness has stuck with the 251 cm figure regardless.
Is Sultan Kösen Still the Tallest Person in 2026?
Yes. As of 2026, Guinness World Records still lists Sultan Kösen as the tallest living person, and a new documentary — The World’s Tallest Man: The Next Chapter — aired on TLC in the U.S. on April 8 and on Channel 4 in the UK later that month, following him through a fresh round of medical evaluations in London (Guinness World Records, 2026).
No verified challenger has come close to his measurement in the years since 2011. Guinness has continued to feature him in its annual book and public appearances, most recently at a book signing in London tied to his 43rd birthday.
Who Is the Tallest Woman in the World Right Now?
Rumeysa Gelgi, also from Türkiye, is the tallest living woman at 7 ft 0.7 in (215.16 cm), a record Guinness confirmed in 2021 (Guinness World Records). She’d previously held the tallest-living-teenager title back in 2014.
Her height comes from Weaver syndrome, a rare genetic condition tied to accelerated growth and skeletal issues — a different mechanism than Kösen’s tumor-driven gigantism, though both produce dramatic height. She mostly moves by wheelchair and uses a walker for short distances, and she’s used her platform to talk publicly about rare medical conditions.
Who Was the Tallest Person Ever?
Robert Wadlow, an American from Alton, Illinois, remains the tallest verified person in recorded history at 8 ft 11.1 in (272 cm), measured 18 days before his death on July 15, 1940, at age 22. His condition, like Kösen’s, traced back to pituitary hypertrophy driving excess growth hormone — but his was never treated, since the medicine of the 1930s had no answer for it.
Ordinarily, growth hormone tapers off once growth plates close in the late teens or early twenties. Wadlow’s tumor overrode that shutoff switch entirely, and he was still gaining height in the weeks before he died.
| Height | Country | Cause | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Wadlow (tallest ever) | 8 ft 11.1 in (272 cm) | United States | Untreated pituitary gigantism |
| Sultan Kösen (tallest living man) | 8 ft 2.8 in (251 cm) | Türkiye | Treated pituitary gigantism |
| Rumeysa Gelgi (tallest living woman) | 7 ft 0.7 in (215.16 cm) | Türkiye | Weaver syndrome |
Lined up side by side, the gap between Wadlow and Kösen is nearly nine inches — most of a shoe size in every direction, practically. That’s the difference untreated gigantism can make over a lifetime.
Frequently Asked Questions About the World’s Tallest Person
Is Anyone Alive Taller Than Sultan Kösen?
No verified living person is currently taller than Sultan Kösen. Guinness World Records has kept his 251 cm measurement as the standing record since 2011, and no challenger has met the verification bar since.
Is Sultan Kösen Taller Than Robert Wadlow?
No. Wadlow, at 8 ft 11.1 in (272 cm), was about 21 cm taller than Kösen. Wadlow’s record applies to all recorded history; Kösen’s applies to people currently living.
Where Does Sultan Kösen Live?
Kösen is from Mardin, Türkiye, and has spent much of his adult life traveling for Guinness World Records events, documentaries, and public appearances, while maintaining ties to his hometown.
When Did Sultan Kösen Become the World’s Tallest Man?
He first earned the title in 2009 at 246.5 cm. His height was remeasured in 2011 at 251 cm, and that figure has stood as his official record ever since.
How Does Guinness World Records Verify Height?
Verification typically involves in-person measurement by Guinness adjudicators using standardized methods, often cross-checked with medical imaging or physician documentation, particularly for records tied to a diagnosed condition.
Final Thoughts
Sultan Kösen is the tallest living person on Earth, at 8 ft 2.8 in, and has held that title since 2011. Robert Wadlow’s all-time record of 8 ft 11.1 in still stands untouched more than 85 years after his death, and Rumeysa Gelgi holds the parallel record among living women. For the most current status on any of these records, Guinness World Records’ own hall of fame pages are the most reliable place to check.
Jay Lauer is a health researcher with 15+ years specializing in bone development and growth nutrition. He holds a B.S. in Kinesiology and is a certified health coach (ACE). As lead author at HowToGrowTaller.com, Jay has published 300+ evidence-based articles, citing sources from PubMed and NIH. He regularly reviews and updates content to reflect the latest clinical research.