Size Comparisons

Texas is the largest state in the lower 48 — but Alaska is 2.18× larger overall. Land area: 570,641 sq mi vs 261,232. Population reversed: Texas has 40× more people. Full comparison with the Republic of Texas history, Mercator paradox, and 10 surprising facts.

Alaska covers 570,641 sq mi; California covers 155,779 sq mi. Almost four Californias fit inside one Alaska. Full comparison with population, coastline, history, and 10 surprising facts.

Texas covers 261,232 sq mi; California covers 155,779 sq mi. California fits inside Texas with ~105,000 sq mi of Texas land left over. The reversal: California has 1.36× Texas's population and a $1.2T-bigger economy.

America's two smallest states. Delaware (1,949 sq mi, #49) is 1.88× larger than Rhode Island (1,034 sq mi, #50) — but Rhode Island packs 11% more people on roughly half the land. Plus colonial history: the First State vs the Last Colony to ratify.

California covers 155,779 sq mi; Florida covers 53,625 sq mi. Almost three Floridas fit inside California. But Florida wins on coastline (1,350 vs 840 mi) and density (401 vs 254 per sq mi). The coastal-state matchup, fully compared.

Alaska is the biggest US state — bigger than the next two combined. But the lower 48 is 5.18× bigger still. Five Alaskas fit inside the contiguous US, with a partial left over. The 1867 purchase grew US land area by 22% overnight.

Russia is the largest country on Earth at 17.1 million km². Canada is #2 at 9.98 million km². Russia is 1.71× larger — the difference (2.75 million sq mi) is bigger than India. But Canada has 6× more coastline, the longest of any country in the world.

The USA is the world's 3rd-largest country. Mexico ranks 13th. Five Mexicos fit inside the US. But the bigger story is historical: 555,000 sq mi of today's American Southwest — California, Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona and New Mexico — was Mexican until 1848.

The USA is 40.36× larger than the UK by total area. Ten US states are each individually bigger than the entire UK. Plus the colonial irony: the country that’s now 40× larger was a British colony 250 years ago. And the empire that was 146× today’s UK.

Greenland (the world's largest island) covers 836,330 sq mi. Antarctica (the world's 5th-largest continent) covers 5.5 million sq mi. Antarctica is 6.58× larger by area, holds 9× more ice by volume, and has no permanent residents. Combined polar ice = 65m of sea level rise if it all melted.

Japan covers 145,937 sq mi; the UK 94,058 sq mi. Two iconic archipelagos compared: Japan has 1.81× the population, a 17% larger economy ($4.2T vs $3.6T), and 2.4× more coastline. Both former colonial empires (Japan 20× peak, UK 146× peak).

Texas covers 268,596 sq mi; France 248,573 sq mi. A 20,000 sq mi difference — the size of West Virginia. But France has 2.14× the population, and was the first major European power to formally recognize the independent Republic of Texas in 1839.

California covers 163,696 sq mi; the UK 94,058 sq mi. California is 1.74× larger by area. But the UK has 1.74× the population — a perfect inverse. California's $3.9T GDP exceeds the UK's $3.6T, making California the world's #5 economy if it were a country.

Saudi Arabia covers 830,000 sq mi (12th-largest country). Texas covers 268,596 sq mi (2nd-largest US state). Saudi is 3.09× larger and produces 1.94× more oil. But Texas's $2.6T GDP is 2.43× Saudi's $1.07T — the diversified-economy advantage.

Mexico covers 758,449 sq mi; Texas 268,596 sq mi. Almost three Texases fit inside Mexico. The two share a 1,254-mile border. Texas was Mexican until 1836, independent for 9 years, then a US state from 1845 — triggering the Mexican-American War.