Junrey Balawing of Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines is the World's Shortest Man

Junrey Balawing from Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines has been officially declared the "World's Shortest Man" by the Guinness World Records (GWR).

Junrey Balawing of Zamboanga del Norte is the new record holder of Guiness' "World's Shortest Man" | Photo courtesy of GWR

GWR officially confirmed the new record after verifying Junrey's height to be 23.6 inches (59.93cm) during his 18th birthday, today. His height is almost three inches smaller than the former holder of the title, Khagendra Thapa Magar from Nepal.

However, Junrey failed to break the record set by Gul Mohammed (1957-1997) from India who was found to be 22.5 inches tall and still the shortest living man in history.

According to his mother, Concepcion, Junrey who has a medical condition called dwarfism and weighs 5 kilogram, "can only walk with some help and he can't stand for too long because he's in too much pain."

In an ABS-CBN report, Junrey's parents said that he stopped growing after his first birthday.

His parents also told GWR that Junrey is their lucky charm. They said that before Junrey's birth, they were poor and down on their luck. But after he was born, they saw a reversal of fortune, with Junrey’s father Reynaldo getting a job that enabled him to look after his family.