Sydney vs London — true size compared
Sydney is about 7.87× the area of London — a difference of roughly 10,796 km² (4,168 sq mi). You could fit London inside Sydney about 7 times.
Greater Sydney sprawls across 12,368 km² (4,775 sq mi) from the Pacific coast to the Blue Mountains.
Greater London spans 1,572 km² (607 sq mi) along the River Thames in southeast England.
Overlay Sydney and London on the map →
Why maps make Sydney and London 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 Sydney and London 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
- Sydney: 12,368 km² · 4,775 sq mi
- London: 1,572 km² · 607 sq mi
- Ratio: Sydney is 7.87× London
- Absolute difference: 10,796 km² (4,168 sq mi)
- London fits inside Sydney ~7 times
Frequently asked
Is Sydney bigger than London?
Sydney is the bigger of the two, at 12,368 km² compared to 1,572 km² for London.
How many times does London fit inside Sydney?
About 7 times — the exact ratio is 7.87×.
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.