Guinness World Records has announced that Iran's Afshin Esmaeil Ghaderzadeh has become the world's shortest man as of Tuesday, after measuring 7 centimetre shorter than the previous record holder. Twenty-year-old Afshin Esmaeil Ghaderzadeh is the world's shortest man now, with a height of 65.24 centimetres (2 feet, 1.6 inches).
According to Guinness World Records, he is almost 7 centimetres (2.7 inches) shorter than the previous record holder, 36-year-old Edward "Nino" Hernandez (Colombia). Afshin is the fourth-shortest man ever verified by Guinness World Records.
He was flown to our Dubai office, where measurements were taken three times over the course of 24 hours, resulting in the accurate record height. While in Dubai, Afshin enjoyed trips to the tailor and barber before ticking an item off his bucket list: visiting the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
Mr. Afshin was discovered in a remote village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran, according to the record book. He is fluent in both Kurdish and Persian, speaking the Farsi dialect.
He was born weighing 700 g (1.5 lb) and has since grown to nearly 6.5 kg (14.3 lb).
Mr. Afshin never had a normal life like the other people in his neighbourhood. His life has been very difficult; he was unable to attend school due to his small height, which had a negative impact on his education and literacy.
"Continuing treatment and my son's physical weakness are the main reasons why he stopped studying, otherwise he has no mental problems," said Afshin's father, Esmaeil Ghaderzadeh.
Afshin's short stature prevents him from following in his father's footsteps as a construction worker; in fact, there are no jobs available in his village for Afshin.
