World's shortest man is 72-year-old Chandra Bahadur Dangi of Nepal

By: Ryan Jaslow
Topics: News

world's shortest man, guinness world records

Chandra Bahadur Dangi, 72, gets measured by Guinness officials

(Credit: Guinness World Records)

(CBS) It's official: The world's shortest man is Chandra Bahadur Dangi from Nepal, Guinness World Records announced Sunday.

PICTURES: World's shortest man is 21.5-inch-tall Nepalese 72-year-old

The 72-year-old man stands at 21.5 inches tall, a mere 5 centimeters shorter than his predecessor.

According to Guinness, Dangi hails from the Nepalese village of Reemkholi in Dang district, more than 250 miles outside of the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu. He is the seventh sibling of a family of six brothers and two sisters; three of his five brothers were less than four feet tall, while his two sisters and two brothers are of average height. Dangi spends his days making placemats and head straps for villagers, and despite his age, says he's never taken any medicine or seen a doctor.

"Just when you think it's impossible for the record to get any smaller, Mr Chandra comes along and astonishes us all by being the shortest person ever measured," Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief, Craig Glenday, said in a statement. "What I find equally remarkable is his age - if he really is 72, he is by far the oldest person to be awarded the shortest-man record in Guinness World Record's 57-year history."

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The previous record-holder was 23.5-inch-tall Junrey Balawing, 18, of the Philippines, HealthPop reported. Prior to that, the record-holder was another Nepalese man, Khagendra Thapa Magar, who stood at 26.4 inches tall.

Here is Dangi accepting the award from Guinness, and spending time in his home village: