Honey badgers are the largest terrestrial mustelids in Africa. Adults measure in shoulder height and in body length, with the tail adding another . Females are smaller than males. In Africa, males weigh while females weigh on average. The mean weight of adult honey badgers from different areas has been reported at anywhere between , with a median of roughly , per various studies. This positions it as the third largest known badger, after the European badger and hog badger, and fourth largest extant terrestrial mustelid after additionally the wolverine. However, the average weight of three wild females from Iraq was reported as , about the typical size of the males from largest-bodied populations of wolverines or from male European badgers in late autumn, indicating that they can attain much larger than typical sizes in favorable conditions. However, an adult female and two males in India were relatively small, at the respective weights of and a median of . Skull length is in males and for females.