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The hash output length of Message Digest 5 (MD5) is 128 bits. MD5 was designed by Ronald Rivest in 1991 and is widely used for checksum verification and data integrity. The output length of a hash function is a fundamental characteristic, as it indicates the size of the hash value produced from any given input.

In the case of MD5, regardless of the size of the input data, the output hash will always be a fixed length of 128 bits, which is equivalent to 32 hexadecimal characters. This fixed output length helps ensure that hash values can be easily handled and compared, although MD5's vulnerabilities have resulted in its decline in use for security-critical applications.

Understanding the hash output length is important for various applications, including file integrity checks and digital signatures, where predictability and consistent output lengths are essential for effective validation. The other choices reflect larger or smaller hash lengths associated with different hashing algorithms, which do not apply to MD5.