Australia vs United States — true size compared
United States is about 1.28× the area of Australia — a difference of roughly 2,141,496 km² (826,836 sq mi). You could fit Australia inside United States about 1 time.
Australia covers 7,692,024 km² (2,969,907 sq mi) — the world's sixth-largest country.
The United States covers 9,833,520 km² (3,796,742 sq mi) from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Overlay Australia and United States on the map →
Why maps make Australia and United States look wrong
Almost every web map — Google Maps, Apple Maps, OpenStreetMap — uses the Mercator projection. Mercator preserves shape locally, but it stretches land the further you get from the equator. Greenland ends up looking bigger than Africa. Alaska rivals the contiguous US. That's why Australia and United States can look similar on a world map even when one is many times larger. The only fair way to compare is to lift one outline off the map and drop it on top of the other at true scale.
Quick facts
- Australia: 7,692,024 km² · 2,969,905 sq mi
- United States: 9,833,520 km² · 3,796,741 sq mi
- Ratio: United States is 1.28× Australia
- Absolute difference: 2,141,496 km² (826,836 sq mi)
- Australia fits inside United States ~1 time
Frequently asked
Is Australia bigger than United States?
United States is the bigger of the two, at 9,833,520 km² compared to 7,692,024 km² for Australia.
How many times does Australia fit inside United States?
About 1 time — the exact ratio is 1.28×.
Why does the map exaggerate one of them?
Mercator projection. Places far from the equator get visually stretched. Overlay the two at true scale to see the honest comparison.