Harry Potter, the main character of the whole series, is described plenty in the books. We know his eye and hair color. We know he was rather skinny and wore his famous glasses. We know he has a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.
But apart from vague descriptions of Harry’s height, we are left in the dark as to the exact height of the Boy Who Lived.
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How Tall is Harry Potter in the Books?
J.K. Rowling never said exactly how tall her characters are, but following the average heights of kids, teenagers, and adults in Great Britain and information from the books, we can extrapolate that Harry Potter was 4’7″ at the beginning of the magical journey.
Considering he grew a lot over the years, we could place Harry at 5’11” or 6’0″ tall as an adult. Harry from the movies was 5’5″.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
The very first description of 11-year-old Harry clearly tells us that he was shorter than average.
Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.
The average height for an 11-year-old British boy is around 4’8.5″. Since Harry was smaller, and we assume still healthy, at 11, Harry was 4’7″ tall.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
During the summer before Harry’s second year at school, he was still described as small and skinny.
Taking the average growth rate of a tween boy, we can say Harry grew around an inch or two over the previous year. That would put Hary’s height at 4’8″ or 4’9″ tall.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
13-year-old Harry is experiencing a small growth spurt, but he is still shorter and skinnier than an average boy his age.
Harry is compared with Peter Pettigrew, who was a very short wizard himself.
He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione.
The average height of an adult British male is 5’10”, so by very short, we can understand a man that could be around 5’5″.
By the average growth ratio of a teenage boy and this comparison, we can assume that Harry, in his third year at Hogwarts, is probably around 5’1″ or 5’2″.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
At 14, Harry is probably catching up with his peers in the height compartment. There is not much to go from in book number four, except the comparison with a 15-year-old girl.
A girl from the fifth year who invited Harry to the Yule Ball was supposed to be a foot higher than Harry, but we think that is just exaggerating on Harry’s part.
Considering the girl would have to be really tall for her age to be taller than him by 12 inches, or Harry would have to be very short. She was probably taller than him, as is sometimes the case when some teenage girls grow faster than teenage boys.
Going again by the average growth of a teenage boy, we can say that Harry was 5’4″ tall during the Triwizard Tournament.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
On the very first page of book number five, we can read that Harry had grown a lot.
He was a skinny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who had the pinched, slightly unhealthy look of someone who has grown a lot in a short space of time.
It indicates that Harry experienced more than normal growth spurt. He is getting taller really fast. We can assume that at 15, Harry was 5’7″.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
During the sixth year at Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley notices at once that Harry had grown so much and insists that they have to go and buy new school outfits.
And also, Hermione points out how much Harry had grown.
“And it doesn’t hurt that you’ve grown about a foot over the summer either,”
While it is not entirely possible for a teenager, even a magical one to grow 12 inches over the course of 2.5 months, we can get behind the growth spurts.
At this point, Harry was about 5’10” tall.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
During the Ministry of Magic stint, Harry Polyjuiced as “more than six feet tall” Runcorn is taller than his normal self. We can assume then that he didn’t grow above 6’0″.
Just before Harry met Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, he saw his father, James. He described him as exactly the same height as Harry. We know that James was described as a tall man by Voldemort, who was tall himself.
By British standards, we can assume that Harry is now above average adult height, so probably around 6’0″ tall.
Is Harry Taller Than Ron in the Books?
Ron was always described as taller than Harry from book one.
Harry was often portrayed as short and skinny for his age, but even after Harry’s growth spurts, Ron is still taller than Harry.
How Tall is Harry Potter in Real Life?
In real life, Harry Potter, portrayed by Daniel Radcliff, started as a 4’10” boy in the first movie.
As with all the cases of child actors, they can never be sure how tall they will be when they grow up. And in the end, Harry Potter in the last movies was rather short at 5’5″.
Conclusion
Most fans think Harry Potter is a short guy because of the constant reminder that he was short for his age in the first books.
However, many also omit the paragraphs in the books stating that Harry was growing really fast, and considering he was as tall as his father in the last book, we can say Harry grew to be a rather tall wizard, more than likely 6’0″ tall.