What this tool does
Height questions arrive value-embedded rather than generic: people search 5'11 in cm, not convert feet to centimetres. Most of the world states height in centimetres while the US, UK and several other countries use feet and inches, so profiles, forms and clothing sizes constantly need both. This converter takes feet and inches together or centimetres alone, and returns the decimal value, the mixed feet-and-inches form, and the reverse direction.
How it works
Height uses the same two exact factors as any other length: 2.54 centimetres per inch and 30.48 centimetres per foot. Feet and inches are combined first, so 5 ft 11 in becomes 71 inches, and the total is multiplied by 2.54 once. Converting each part separately is what introduces the small errors that make two converters disagree about the same person.
Going the other way divides by 2.54 to reach total inches, then by 12 to reach whole feet, keeping the leftover inches as the fractional part. 180 cm is 70.866 inches, which is 5 feet and 10.87 inches. Rounding the feet count too early is what turns 5 ft 10.87 in into an incorrect 5 ft 11 in claim.
The decimal feet figure is a separate output because some forms ask for it: 5 ft 11 in is 5.9167 ft, and dividing centimetres by 30.48 gives the same number directly. Records round differently — sports to the nearest inch, medical notes to the nearest centimetre, military entries to the nearest half inch — so the tool shows the unrounded value next to whichever form you need.
Worked example
Converting a stated height of 5 feet 11 inches to centimetres.
- 5 × 12 = 60 inches, plus 11 = 71 inches
- 71 × 2.54 = 180.34 cm
- Reverse: 180.34 ÷ 30.48 = 5.9167 ft
5'11 = 180.34 cm = 5.92 ft. The nearby query 5'10 is 70 × 2.54 = 177.8 cm.
Accuracy and limitations
- Uses the international inch and foot, where 1 in = 2.54 cm exactly. The US survey foot differs by about two parts per million and is not used here.
- A measured height changes by a centimetre or more with posture, footwear and time of day, so a converted figure is only as good as the measurement behind it.
- Average-height figures vary by source, year and age band, so treat any country ranking as approximate rather than a fixed statistic.
Frequently asked questions
- How tall is 5'11 in cm?
- 5 feet 11 inches is 180.34 cm exactly. Multiply 71 inches by 2.54, using the international definition that one inch has equalled 2.54 cm since 1959.
- How tall is 5'10 in cm?
- 5 feet 10 inches is 177.8 cm exactly. Seventy inches times 2.54 gives 177.8, which is the figure height charts show for 5'10.
- How do I convert feet to cm?
- Multiply by 30.48, because one foot is exactly 30.48 cm. Six feet is 182.88 cm, and for feet and inches you should convert the total inches by 2.54 instead.
- How do I convert cm to feet and inches?
- Divide by 2.54 for total inches, then divide by 12 for the feet and keep the remainder as inches. 180 cm is 70.87 inches, so 5 feet with 10.87 inches left over.
- What is 180 cm in feet?
- 5.91 feet, or 5 ft 10.87 in. Dividing 180 by 30.48 gives 5.9055 ft, and multiplying the decimal part by 12 recovers the 10.87 inches.
- Is 5'11 taller than 180 cm?
- Yes, by 0.34 cm. 5'11 is 180.34 cm, so someone exactly 180 cm tall is 5 ft 10.87 in, just under 5'11.