Morphological face height : bizygomatic width
Nasion-to-menton height divided by the widest facial width.
How to read it
the face is broad relative to its height for the reference group.
face height relative to width sits close to the reference mean.
the face is long relative to its width for the reference group.
Bizygomatic width from a 2D photo carries a systematic ~3 mm bias versus direct caliper measurement (Lim 2022) and shifts with yaw. Treat the width term as approximate.
Reference values by population
| Reference population | Female (mean ± SD) | Male (mean ± SD) | n | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North American White | 0.855 ± 0.054 | 0.872 ± 0.059 | 2326 | Farkas 1994/2005 (NA White young adults) prov. |
| East Asian | 0.809 ± 0.055 | 0.828 ± 0.055 | 618 | Farkas 2005 (Chinese/Japanese/Vietnamese/Thai pooled); Jayaratne 2012 (Southern Chinese, n=103) prov. |
| South Asian | 0.852 ± 0.058 | 0.868 ± 0.06 | 210 | Farkas 2005 (Indian); Metgudmath 2022 prov. |
| African / African diaspora | 0.856 ± 0.058 | 0.871 ± 0.059 | 300 | Farkas 2005 (African-American, Zulu, Angolan) prov. |
| Middle Eastern | 0.869 ± 0.056 | 0.884 ± 0.06 | 348 | Farkas 2005 (Turkish, Iranian, Egyptian); Al-Sebaei 2015 (Saudi, n=168) prov. |
| Hispanic / Latino | 0.832 ± 0.056 | 0.843 ± 0.058 | 120 | Farkas 2005 (Mexican-American) prov. |
| Not specified — show pooled | 0.845 ± 0.06 | 0.861 ± 0.062 | 3922 | Unweighted pool of the six groups above prov. |
Where these numbers come from
Transcribed from the cited anthropometric literature; SDs of ratios are propagated conservatively (independence assumed). Entries marked prov. await line-by-line audit against the primary tables — see the norm provenance note.
Why every value has an error bar
Every value Canthion reports carries a 1σ uncertainty propagated from MediaPipe Face Mesh's published accuracy (3.96% of inter-ocular distance mean absolute error per landmark, Kartynnik 2019). For a typical 300 px inter-pupil photo that is ≈12 px per landmark, which is why small ratios and angles get wide intervals. A number without an interval is a number pretending to be more precise than it is.
References
- Farkas, Katic & Forrest (2005). International Anthropometric Study of Facial Morphology in Various Ethnic Groups/Races. J Craniofac Surg 16(4):615–646. doi.org/10.1097/01.SCS.0000171847.58031.9E
- Lim, Abdul Shakor & Shaharudin (2022). Reliability and Accuracy of 2D Photogrammetry: A Comparison With Direct Measurement. Front Public Health 9:813058. doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.813058
Related: how bone-level measurements are taken from a photo · methodology · all insights