The world's shortest woman is an American college student, according to a statement furnished to media outlets by Guinness World Records on Tuesday.

Guinness identified the new title holder as 22-year-old Bridgette Jordan, who measures 27 inches tall and enjoys her regular campus life by active involvement on numerous activities such as cheerleading and dancing.

"I believe that everyone should be confident in themselves," Jordan was quoted as saying by the international record-keeper on its media brief about the college student who attends Kaskaskia College, a community institution located in central part of Illinois.

Together with her brother, 20-year-old Brad, the siblings, Guinness said, also earned the distinction as the 'shortest living sibling' in the world.

Obviously unfazed by their height limitations, Brad follows the outdoor enjoyments of his sister as he counts basketball, gymnastics and karate as among his pleasurable physical routines.

Also a student at Kaskaskia, Brad revealed that he entertains his friends with his magic tricks.

The two, according to a Guinness spokesman, were both diagnosed with Majewski osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II upon birth.

However, Bridgette's reign could end later this year as Guinness revealed that Jyoti Amge, measured by the record-keeper at about two feet tall, would turn 18 on December, thus making her eligible to snatch the title.

Prior to the discovery of Bridgette, Guinness has named Turkish Elif Kocaman, who measured at 28.5 inches, as the shortest living woman on the planet.

Both women though were unable to eclipse the record 24 inches tall attributed by Guinness to Pauline Musters of the Netherlands, who died at a young age of 19 in 1985 to pneumonia.