What is the official elevation of Mount Everest above sea level, measured in 2020?

Mount Everest’s official elevation, measured in 2020, is 8,848.86 metres above sea level.

Everest is part of the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas, on the border between Nepal and China. Nepal and China announced the jointly accepted 8,848.86-metre measurement in December 2020 after surveying the summit with modern equipment. The figure includes the snow and ice cap on the peak.

Earlier official measurements differed slightly because survey methods, reference systems, and the thickness of summit snow and ice varied. Nepal’s 2019 survey and China’s 2020 measurement were combined for the new figure. The mountain’s name honors George Everest, a nineteenth-century Surveyor General of India.

In Nepal the mountain is called Sagarmatha, while in Tibet it is known as Chomolungma. Everest is the highest mountain above sea level, but Mauna Kea is taller when measured from its submarine base to its summit.