New Study Lets Men Know If They are 'Average'

Someone spent time finding out which country has the largest…ummm…errr…. male genitals and even published an academic report detailing the information.

The taboo topic of “how big it is” was published in BJUI International and it gives men all over the world a chart of sorts to measure up how their manhood sizes up against others. The study looked at length, girth, and circumference of men from around the world, both flaccid and erect. The authors say they compiled the information to help all those men who complain about their size and worry that they don’t measure up to their peers.

Photo Credit: BJUI International

“This type of concern is commonly known as ‘small penis anxiety’ or ‘small penis syndrome’. Some men who are preoccupied and severely distressed with the size of their penis may also be diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), where the preoccupation, excessive self-consciousness and distress is focussed on their penis size or shape,” reads the article. “Penis size nomograms may be useful in clinical and therapeutic settings to counsel men and for academic research.”

The study looked at more than 15,000 penises and found that the average man, in a flaccid state is 9.16 (3.6 inches) centimetres in length and has a girth of 9.31 centimetres (3.7 inches). When erect the average is 13.12 centimetres (5.16 inches) and has a girth of 11.66 centimetres (4.6 inches), according to the data collected. The study could not draw any conclusions between penile size and different races but it did suggest that the length and girth was greatest with Africans, intermediate with Caucasians and smallest with Asians.

The authors hope that the study will help men with their anxiety associated with penis size and related body image problems. But that being said, the authors also state that by definition, half the population must be below average according to the data. What is not known is if those above the 50th percentile were more likely to be reassured and satisfied than those below the mean and whether those below 50th percentile are more likely to remain anxious or dissatisfied.