Greenland vs Africa — true size compared
Africa is about 14.02× the area of Greenland — a difference of roughly 28,203,914 km² (10,889,584 sq mi). You could fit Greenland inside Africa about 14 times.
Greenland covers 2,166,086 km² (836,330 sq mi), the world's largest island — often massively oversized on web maps.
Africa covers 30,370,000 km² (11,725,000 sq mi) — bigger than the US, China, India, and most of Europe combined.
Overlay Greenland and Africa on the map →
Why maps make Greenland and Africa 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 Greenland and Africa 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
- Greenland: 2,166,086 km² · 836,330 sq mi
- Africa: 30,370,000 km² · 11,725,914 sq mi
- Ratio: Africa is 14.02× Greenland
- Absolute difference: 28,203,914 km² (10,889,584 sq mi)
- Greenland fits inside Africa ~14 times
Frequently asked
Is Greenland bigger than Africa?
Africa is the bigger of the two, at 30,370,000 km² compared to 2,166,086 km² for Greenland.
How many times does Greenland fit inside Africa?
About 14 times — the exact ratio is 14.02×.
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.