635 t1,400,000 lb
Christ the Redeemer weighs about 635 tonnes (roughly 1.4 million lb), the figure most English sources give for the statue itself. Brazilian sources usually quote 1,145 tonnes (about 2.5 million lb), which some describe as the whole monument including its pedestal. The sanctuary’s own fact page gives only the head’s weight, 30 tonnes.
| Whole monument, Brazilian figureUsually quoted in Brazil; some sources say it includes the pedestal | 1,150 t2,520,000 lb |
|---|---|
| StatueThe figure in Wikipedia and most English sources | 635 t1,400,000 lb |
English Wikipedia and the New7Wonders site both say the statue weighs 635 tonnes (700 short tons). Brazilian outlets such as Brasil de Fato, Portuguese Wikipedia and the news agency Lusa give 1,145 tonnes instead. Neither number comes with a published engineering calculation, and the Santuário Cristo Redentor, which runs the monument, does not state a total weight on its fact page.
Some Brazilian articles reconcile the two by saying the 635 tonnes is the statue alone and the 1,145 tonnes adds the pedestal, the concrete base and the chapel inside it. If that is right, the base accounts for about 1,145 minus 635, or 510 tonnes. That split is plausible but not officially confirmed, so on this page 635 tonnes means the statue standing on top of the pedestal.
The sanctuary says the head weighs 30 tonnes (about 66,000 lb), and Agência Brasil gives its length as 3.75 m. Each hand is 3.2 m long and weighs 8 tonnes (about 17,600 lb). The head and hands were modelled in Paris under the French sculptor Paul Landowski, with the face by Gheorghe Leonida; the rest of the work was done in Brazil.
The statue is 30 m (98 ft) tall on an 8 m (26 ft) pedestal, 38 m (125 ft) in all, which the sanctuary compares to a 13-storey building. The arms span 28 m (92 ft), each arm has a surface area of 88 m², and one foot measures 1.35 m. Inside, 12 levels linked by stairs lead up to hatches in the arms and head.
The body is reinforced concrete, with structural calculations by the French engineer Albert Caquot. Engineer Heitor da Silva Costa decided to cover all of it in a mosaic of small triangular soapstone tiles, a stone that resists heat, cold and erosion. It was built between 1926 and 1931 and inaugurated on 12 October 1931, and the sanctuary says it was designed to withstand winds of up to 250 km/h (155 mph).
Standing on a 700 m peak, it is a lightning target. Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) counts at least six strikes a year. A strike in 2008 damaged the fingers, head and eyebrows, and another in January 2014 broke the tip off a finger on the right hand. The 2010 restoration used more than 60,000 pieces of soapstone from the original quarry.
The statue weighs about 635 tonnes, or roughly 1.4 million lb (700 short tons). The 1,145-tonne figure often given in Brazil comes to about 2.5 million lb.
The head weighs 30 tonnes (about 66,000 lb), according to the Santuário Cristo Redentor. It is about 3.75 m long.
The statue is 30 m (98 ft) tall and stands on an 8 m (26 ft) pedestal, for a total of 38 m (125 ft). Its arms span 28 m (92 ft).
It is reinforced concrete covered in a mosaic of thousands of small triangular soapstone tiles. Soapstone was chosen because it is easy to carve and resists weathering.
INPE’s atmospheric electricity group says the statue takes at least six lightning strikes a year. The statue has lightning rods in its head and arms, but strikes in 2008 and 2014 still damaged the fingers and head.
Last checked October 3, 2026.
