France vs Texas — true size compared
Texas is about 1.08× the area of France — a difference of roughly 51,861 km² (20,024 sq mi). You could fit France inside Texas about 1 time.
Metropolitan France covers 643,801 km² (248,573 sq mi), the largest country entirely in Western Europe.
Texas covers 695,662 km² (268,596 sq mi), the second-largest US state.
Overlay France and Texas on the map →
Why maps make France and Texas 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 France and Texas 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
- France: 643,801 km² · 248,573 sq mi
- Texas: 695,662 km² · 268,596 sq mi
- Ratio: Texas is 1.08× France
- Absolute difference: 51,861 km² (20,024 sq mi)
- France fits inside Texas ~1 time
Frequently asked
Is France bigger than Texas?
Texas is the bigger of the two, at 695,662 km² compared to 643,801 km² for France.
How many times does France fit inside Texas?
About 1 time — the exact ratio is 1.08×.
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.