Is the Statue of Liberty Taller Than Big Ben?

The Statue of Liberty in New York and Big Ben in London are two of the most recognizable monuments on Earth — symbols of America and Britain respectively. Both date from the second half of the 19th century, both have stood for over a century as cultural icons, and they're close enough in height that the comparison is genuinely interesting.

The Short Answer

No, Big Ben is slightly taller than the Statue of Liberty — but only by 3 meters. The Elizabeth Tower (which houses Big Ben) stands 96 m tall. The Statue of Liberty stands 93 m from ground level to the top of the torch. Big Ben is about 3% taller.

Side-by-Side Numbers

• Statue of Liberty total height: 93 m (305 ft) including pedestal
• Statue of Liberty (statue only): 46 m (151 ft) from heel to torch
• Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) height: 96 m (315 ft)
• Difference: Big Ben is 3 m taller
• Ratio: Big Ben is ~1.03× the height of the Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French people to the United States, completed in 1886. The statue was designed by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, and the internal iron framework was engineered by Gustave Eiffel (the same engineer who would design the Eiffel Tower three years later). Bartholdi modeled Liberty's face on his mother. The statue is constructed of about 31 tons of copper sheets just 2.4 mm thick, draped over the iron skeleton.

The pedestal — designed by American architect Richard Morris Hunt — adds 47 m to the statue's height, with the statue itself standing about 46 m from heel to torch. Liberty Island, where the statue stands in New York Harbor, was named Bedloe's Island until 1956. About 4.5 million people visit the Statue of Liberty National Monument annually. For millions of immigrants arriving at nearby Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954, the Statue of Liberty was their first view of America. The torch has been replaced once — the original now displayed in a museum on the island.

Big Ben and the Elizabeth Tower

"Big Ben" is technically the nickname of the Great Bell housed in the clock tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London. The tower itself was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. Before that, it was simply called the Clock Tower. The tower was completed in 1859, designed by Augustus Pugin in the Gothic Revival style. Sir Charles Barry was the lead architect of the broader Palace of Westminster project, completed after the original palace burned down in 1834.

The Elizabeth Tower stands 96 m tall and houses the Great Clock of Westminster, one of the most accurate large clocks in the world. The clock has four faces, each 7 m in diameter, with hour hands 2.7 m long and minute hands 4.3 m long. The Great Bell — the actual "Big Ben" — weighs 13.7 tons and strikes the hour. Four smaller "quarter bells" mark the quarter hours with the famous Westminster Quarters chime sequence. The tower was extensively restored from 2017 to 2022 in the most thorough renovation since its construction.

The Engineering Comparison

Both structures are 19th-century engineering achievements but in very different categories. The Statue of Liberty is a hollow copper-clad iron structure — engineered to be light enough to ship to America from France in pieces and assembled on-site, but strong enough to withstand harbor winds. Eiffel's iron framework, with its four legs and secondary skeleton supporting the copper skin, was a precursor to later skyscraper engineering.

The Elizabeth Tower is a solid masonry construction of brick faced with Anston limestone. The tower has 334 steps to the belfry level — there is no elevator, though one was added during the 2017–2022 restoration for the use of bell mechanics and emergency services. The tower is built on a 7.6 m square raft of concrete, 3 m thick, set 4 m below the ground. The structure leans very slightly to the northwest (about 230 mm at the top), partly due to subsidence from nearby underground construction including the Jubilee Line tube.

Cultural Significance

Both monuments have become universally recognizable symbols of their cities and countries. The Statue of Liberty has appeared in countless films (from Planet of the Apes to The Day After Tomorrow), books, paintings, and protests. The poem on its pedestal, "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus, has become inseparable from the American immigration story. The statue's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1984) reflects its global significance.

Big Ben/the Elizabeth Tower is just as iconic — perhaps the single most recognized image of London. It has appeared in even more films than the Statue of Liberty, from V for Vendetta to Mary Poppins to dozens of British TV shows. The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast on BBC Radio 4 before major news bulletins, and the bells ring out at midnight on New Year's Eve as a national time signal. The Palace of Westminster (which includes Big Ben's tower) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Visiting Each

The Statue of Liberty welcomes visitors year-round. The base/pedestal observation deck is accessible by elevator and stairs; reaching the crown requires booking far in advance and climbing 354 stairs through a narrow spiral staircase. The torch has been closed to the public since 1916 after damage from the Black Tom explosion. Ferry service from Battery Park in Manhattan or Liberty State Park in New Jersey is the only way to reach Liberty Island.

Big Ben is not accessible to most visitors — the Elizabeth Tower has historically been open only to UK residents who arrange tours through their Member of Parliament. After the 2017–2022 restoration, some limited public tours have become available, though access remains tightly controlled. Visitors can view and photograph Big Ben freely from outside, including from Parliament Square, Westminster Bridge, and the South Bank across the Thames.

Restoration and Maintenance

Both monuments have undergone major restoration in recent decades. The Statue of Liberty was extensively restored in the 1980s, with a major rededication ceremony in 1986 marking the 100th anniversary. The original torch (altered in 1916 to add glass panels, which caused water damage) was replaced. The statue's patina (green color from oxidized copper) has been preserved deliberately — chemical analysis showed that under the patina the copper is in excellent condition. The Elizabeth Tower's 2017–2022 restoration cost about £80 million and included repairing stonework, regilding the clock dials, repainting the clock face (which is now Prussian blue, the original color, rather than the black it had been for decades), and installing new lifts and mechanical systems.

Inside the Structures

The Statue of Liberty's interior is hollow. Visitors who reach the crown pass through Eiffel's iron skeleton — clearly visible from inside — climbing a tight spiral staircase to a small observation room at the top of the crown. The torch interior is not accessible. The Elizabeth Tower's interior is mostly stone and brick, with the spiral staircase climbing past chambers containing the clock mechanism (the Great Clock's pendulum is 4 m long and weighs 305 kg), the bell room (where Big Ben and the four quarter-bells hang), and finally the belfry observation point. The original clock mechanism, built by Edmund Beckett Denison and Edward John Dent, has been working since 1859 with only minor modifications.

Key Facts

• Big Ben is about 3 m taller than the Statue of Liberty.
• The Statue of Liberty was a French gift to the US.
• Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell, not the tower itself.
• The tower was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012.
• Both monuments are UNESCO-listed.

Fun Facts

• The Statue of Liberty's engineer (Eiffel) later built the Eiffel Tower.
• Big Ben's clock has been accurate to within a few seconds throughout its history.
• Lady Liberty wears a size 879 sandal.
• The Elizabeth Tower leans 230 mm to the northwest.
• Both monuments survived World War II — Big Ben was bombed but the clock kept working.

The Bottom Line

Big Ben (the Elizabeth Tower) is slightly taller than the Statue of Liberty — by about 3 m or 3%. They're effectively the same height for practical purposes. Both are 19th-century monuments that have become globally iconic symbols of their cities and nations, both have undergone major restoration in recent decades, and both will continue to draw visitors and inspire imaginations for centuries to come.