How tall is Joe Biden? Heights of world leaders ranked as Nato gathers for summit

World leaders including Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Olaf Scholz, and Justin Trudeau are gathering for a Nato summit in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius.

The alliance - officially known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - has 31 member states from across the globe. One of the memorable moments at the powerful group’s get-togethers is a photo of the leaders side-by-side.

Height does play a part in voters’ perception of politicians, at least according to a study from University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Published in 2013, it found that taller US presidential candidates performed better than their more diminutive rivals two-thirds of the time.

If so, Mr Biden appears to have bucked the trend as he managed to defeat Donald Trump in the 2020 race, despite being several inches shorter than the Republican billionaire.

Below we look at how some of the most high-profile leaders in the world measure up against one another.

Joe Biden

At 6ft tall, Mr Biden is far from the tallest US president in history as that accolade belongs to 6ft 4ins Abraham Lincoln. However, he found himself looking down on two prominent Britons during a brief visit to the UK on Monday.

When Mr Biden attended Windsor Castle on Monday he was pictured alongside our 5ft 8ins monarch Charles, although the president was more familiar with the King than protocol would normally allow.

The US leader also towered over Rishi Sunak when the pair met in Downing Street.

Rishi Sunak

At 5ft 6ins, Rishi Sunak is one of the UK’s shortest premiers on record, a fact that appeared to fascinate the public at the time of his appointment when Google searches for his height spiked.

Mr Sunak’s stature has attracted attention before. As chancellor in March 2021, he positioned himself at the top of the stairs of No 11 brandishing the famous red box, forcing his fellow Treasury ministers to line the steps below him and as a result looking far smaller than their boss.

But there was no escaping the height differential when he met his substantially taller US counterpart this week.

Justin Trudeau

The Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is one of the tallest leaders on the world stage at 6ft 2ins.

His height hit the headlines in 2019 when he was pictured looking ever-so-slightly taller than then-US president Mr Trump.

The problem? Mr Trump had previously insisted he was 6ft 3ins.

Emmanuel Macron

France’s president Emmanuel Macron measures 5ft 7ft.

While certainly not tall, Mr Macron has a significant height advantage over his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy.

Mr Sarkozy was 5ft 5ins and famously much shorter than his wife, the 5ft 8ins singer Carla Bruni.

Olaf Scholz

At around 5ft 6ins, the German chancellor joins Mr Sunak as one of the shorter world leaders.

Elected to power in December 2021, he replaced long-serving Angela Merkel who was just a shade shorter at 5ft 5ins.

Vladimir Putin

At 5ft 7ins Vladimir Putin is three inches shorter than the average Russian.

The president has been accused of having a ‘Napoleon Complex’ as a result, the psychological phenomenon of insecure shorter men overcompensating for their lack of height.

During his long reign, he has also become notorious for posing for ‘macho’ images such as hunting or riding horses with his shirt off.

Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukraine is bidding to join Nato, with the country’s desire for membership a key issue for the alliance during the summit.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also stands at 5ft 7in, is scheduled to meet Mr Biden on Wednesday.