The official elevation of Mount Everest, jointly announced by Nepal and China in 2020, is 8,848.86 metres.
The 2020 figure measures the mountain's snow and ice cap as well as its rock summit. Nepal and China announced the result together after separate surveying efforts, replacing the long-used height of 8,848 metres first publicized in 1954. Small differences between published heights can result from survey methods, reference systems, and whether snow cover is included.
Everest is part of the Himalayas on the border between Nepal and Tibet, an autonomous region of China. Nepal commonly calls it Sagarmatha, while Tibetans call it Qomolangma. The mountain formed as the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates pushed into one another.
Everest is the highest point above sea level, but not the farthest point from Earth's centre: the summit of Ecuador's Chimborazo is farther out because Earth bulges at the equator. K2 is the world's second-highest mountain, at 8,611 metres.