Greenland vs Antarctica Size: How Much Bigger Is Antarctica?

By Marko Visic · Updated Nov 11, 2026

Antarctica covers 5,482,651 sq mi (14.2 million km²) and Greenland 836,330 sq mi (2,166,086 km²), so Antarctica is 6.56× Greenland, larger by an area bigger than the whole USA. Antarctica's ice sheet holds about 10.3× as much ice as Greenland's, yet Greenland loses 1.96× as much ice each year.

Greenland drawn 6.56 times inside Antarctica: six full copies and a dashed partial one. Each copy is scaled to the area ratio in the table. The Antarctic outline in our map data leaves out the large floating ice shelves, which the Factbook counts in Antarctica's area. Antarctica in a polar azimuthal equal-area projection centered on the South Pole, Greenland in a conic equal-area projection.

Check this for yourself

Drag Greenland across Antarctica in the interactive tool

The tool keeps each shape's true area as you move it to any latitude.

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Greenland vs Antarctica by the numbers

Metric	Antarctica	Greenland	Ratio
Total area (sq mi)	5,482,651	836,330	Antarctica 6.56×
Ice-covered land (sq mi)	about 5.37 million (98%)	about 660,000 (79%)	Antarctica 8.14×
Ice-free land (sq mi)	about 110,000	about 176,000	Greenland 1.60×
Ice sheet volume (cu mi)	about 7.2 million	about 696,000	Antarctica 10.34×
Sea-level rise if the ice sheet melted	190 ft (58 m)	24 ft (7.4 m)	Antarctica 7.84×
Ice lost per year, 2002 to 2025 (metric tons)	about 135 billion	about 264 billion	Greenland 1.96×
Population	no permanent residents; 1,100 to 5,000 station staff (2024)	57,751 (2024 est.)
Highest point	Vinson Massif, 16,050 ft	Gunnbjorn Fjeld, 12,119 ft	Antarctica 1.32×
Mean elevation (ft)	7,546	5,879	Antarctica 1.28×
Coastline (mi)	11,165	27,394	Greenland 2.45×
Governed by	Antarctic Treaty (58 Parties)	Kingdom of Denmark (self-governing)

Areas, ice cover, people, elevations and coastlines from the CIA World Factbook; ice volume and sea level from the National Snow and Ice Data Center; ice loss from NASA. Ratios divide the larger figure by the smaller.

How much bigger is Antarctica than Greenland?

On the CIA World Factbook's figures Antarctica covers 5,482,651 sq mi (14.2 million km²) and Greenland 836,330 sq mi, so Antarctica is 6.56× Greenland: six whole Greenlands fit inside it with room for 0.56 of a seventh. The difference, 4,646,320 sq mi, is more than the area of the USA (3,796,742 sq mi). Antarctica's total includes its floating ice shelves, which the Factbook puts at 11% of the continent.

The Factbook ranks Antarctica fifth among the seven continents, after Asia, Africa, North America and South America and ahead of Europe and Australia. It is 1.44× the USA, 1.83× Australia and 83% of Russia. Greenland, which the Factbook calls the world's largest island, is 2.76× New Guinea, the second largest on its list, and about the size of Saudi Arabia (1.01×) or Mexico (1.10×).

Two ice sheets compared

Ice covers about 98% of Antarctica and 79% of Greenland on the Factbook's figures, about 5.37 million sq mi against 660,000 sq mi. Greenland has more bare ground: about 176,000 sq mi is free of ice, against about 110,000 sq mi in Antarctica.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center puts the Antarctic Ice Sheet at about 7.2 million cubic miles (30 million km³) of ice, nearly 3 miles (4.9 km) thick at its thickest, and the Greenland Ice Sheet at about 696,000 cubic miles (2.9 million km³), more than 1.9 miles (3 km) thick, so Antarctica holds 10.3× as much ice. If the Antarctic sheet melted, sea level would rise about 190 ft (58 m); for Greenland the figure is about 24 ft (7.4 m). Together the two ice sheets hold more than 99% of Earth's land ice and over 68% of its fresh water.

Greenland loses more ice each year

NASA's GRACE and GRACE Follow-On gravity satellites measured average losses of about 264 billion metric tons of ice a year from Greenland and about 135 billion from Antarctica between 2002 and 2025. Greenland, with less than a sixth of Antarctica's area, loses 1.96× as much ice, which NASA puts at 0.03 in (0.8 mm) of global sea-level rise a year, against about 0.016 in (0.4 mm) a year from Antarctica.

People and government

Greenland, home to 57,751 people in 2024 on the Factbook's estimate, is a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark: home rule dates from 1979 and wider self-rule from a 2009 act. Antarctica has no permanent inhabitants. The Factbook counts staff at year-round and summer-only research stations run by 30 countries, about 5,000 people in summer and 1,100 in winter as of 2024.

The Antarctic Treaty, signed in Washington on December 1, 1959 by 12 countries and in force since 1961, now has 58 Parties. Article I reserves Antarctica for peaceful purposes and prohibits measures of a military nature, while allowing military personnel and equipment for science; Article V bans nuclear explosions and the disposal of radioactive waste; Article VI applies the treaty to everything south of 60° South, ice shelves included. Seven countries (Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the UK) claim territory, which other countries do not recognize, and Article IV freezes those claims and bars new ones. The Protocol on Environmental Protection, signed in Madrid in 1991 and in force since 1998, makes Antarctica a natural reserve and, in Article 7, prohibits any activity relating to mineral resources other than scientific research.

Mountains, elevation and coastlines

Vinson Massif, Antarctica's highest point at 16,050 ft (4,892 m), is 1.32× the height of Gunnbjorn Fjeld, Greenland's highest at 12,119 ft (3,694 m). The Factbook calls Antarctica the highest continent on average, with a mean elevation of 7,546 ft (2,300 m) against Greenland's 5,879 ft (1,792 m). It places the lowest known land point under Antarctica's Denman Glacier, more than 11,500 ft (3,500 m) below sea level, the world's lowest elevation not under seawater. Greenland's coast runs 27,394 mi (44,087 km), 2.45× Antarctica's 11,165 mi (17,968 km).

Drawn to scale: Greenland next to Antarctica

Both outlines at the same area per pixel, side by side.

Both drawn to scale in equal-area projections, Antarctica in a polar azimuthal projection centered on the South Pole and Greenland in a conic projection (parallels 65°N and 80°N). The Antarctic outline leaves out the large floating ice shelves, so Antarctica is drawn smaller than its full 5,482,651 sq mi.

What else is about the size of Antarctica and Greenland?

By total area (CIA World Factbook):

Antarctica is 1.44× the USA and 1.83× Australia; Russia is 1.20× Antarctica (USA vs Russia).
Greenland is 1.01× Saudi Arabia and 1.10× Mexico (Mexico vs USA).
The USA is 4.54× Greenland (Greenland vs USA).

Methodology and sources

Area: CIA World Factbook, final edition: Antarctica (14.2 million km², ice shelves included) and Greenland (total area, all of it land); Australia, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Mexico; continents and islands from the World entry. USA: US Census Bureau, State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates (2010).
Ice cover: Ice-covered and ice-free land: the Factbook entries for Antarctica and Greenland (estimates).
Ice volume, thickness and sea level: National Snow and Ice Data Center, Ice Sheet Quick Facts (accessed November 11, 2026).
Ice loss: NASA Earth Indicators, Ice Sheets: GRACE and GRACE Follow-On satellite averages for 2002 to 2025 (accessed November 11, 2026).
People, government, elevation, coastline: The Factbook entries for Antarctica (station population, 2024) and Greenland (2024 population estimate, self-government). Miles and feet are converted from the Factbook's kilometers and meters.
Antarctic Treaty and Protocol: Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, The Antarctic Treaty and the treaty text (1959), Articles I, IV, V and VI; list of Parties (58, accessed November 11, 2026); Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty and its text (1991), Article 7.
Mercator: Greenland's factor computed from our map data (world-atlas, Natural Earth 1:50m) with a Mercator projection. The poles at infinity: USGS Professional Paper 1395, Map Projections: A Working Manual (1987), chapter 7. Google Maps' cutoff near 85°: Google Maps Platform documentation, Map and tile coordinates (accessed November 11, 2026).
Drawings: Shapes from us-atlas (US Census Bureau cartographic boundaries) and world-atlas (Natural Earth 1:50m) for the drawings. In the tiled map each Greenland is scaled to the Factbook area ratio; the side-by-side map draws both outlines at one scale.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. On the CIA World Factbook's figures Antarctica covers 5,482,651 sq mi (14.2 million km²) and Greenland 836,330 sq mi (2,166,086 km²), so Antarctica is 6.56× Greenland. The difference, 4,646,320 sq mi, is larger than the whole USA.

6.56: six whole Greenlands and 0.56 of a seventh, which is what the map at the top of this page shows.

Yes. Antarctica is 1.44× the USA's 3,796,742 sq mi; the Factbook calls it slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US. Greenland is a little under a quarter of the USA's area.

Antarctica. The National Snow and Ice Data Center puts the Antarctic Ice Sheet at about 7.2 million cubic miles (30 million km³) of ice and the Greenland Ice Sheet at about 696,000 cubic miles (2.9 million km³), a ratio of 10.3. Together the two hold more than 99% of Earth's land ice and over 68% of its fresh water.

About 190 ft (58 m) if the whole Antarctic Ice Sheet melted and about 24 ft (7.4 m) for the Greenland Ice Sheet, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center: together about 214 ft (65.4 m).

Between 2002 and 2025, NASA's GRACE and GRACE Follow-On satellites measured average losses of about 264 billion metric tons a year from Greenland and about 135 billion from Antarctica. Greenland, with less than a sixth of Antarctica's area, loses 1.96× as much ice; NASA puts the resulting sea-level rise at 0.03 in (0.8 mm) a year from Greenland and about 0.016 in (0.4 mm) a year from Antarctica.

Not permanently. The CIA World Factbook counts no permanent inhabitants, only staff at year-round and summer-only research stations: about 5,000 people in summer and 1,100 in winter as of 2024, at stations run by 30 countries. Greenland had 57,751 residents (2024 estimate).

Seven countries (Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the UK) claim parts of it, and other countries do not recognize those claims, according to the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat. Article IV of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty freezes the claims and bars new ones while the treaty is in force. The treaty, now with 58 Parties, reserves Antarctica for peaceful purposes, and the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection prohibits mineral resource activities other than scientific research.

Yes. The CIA World Factbook counts Antarctica fifth of the seven continents, after Asia, Africa, North America and South America and ahead of Europe and Australia. Greenland heads its list of islands at 836,330 sq mi, 2.76× New Guinea, the runner-up; Australia, at 2,988,902 sq mi, appears on the continent list instead.

Antarctica's is Vinson Massif, 16,050 ft (4,892 m), 1.32× the height of Greenland's Gunnbjorn Fjeld, 12,119 ft (3,694 m). Antarctica is also higher on average: its mean elevation is 7,546 ft (2,300 m) against Greenland's 5,879 ft (1,792 m).

On the Mercator projection area grows without limit toward the poles, which the US Geological Survey's manual describes as lying at infinity. Computed from our map data, a Mercator map draws Greenland at 16.4× its true area. Antarctica cannot be shown whole at all; Google Maps, for one, cuts its Mercator map off at about 85° south and north.

Related size comparisons

Open Greenland and Antarctica in the interactive tool
Greenland vs USA: The USA is 4.54× Greenland (total area).
USA vs Africa: Africa is 3.11× the USA (total area).
Russia vs Canada: Russia is 1.71× Canada (total area).
USA vs Russia: Russia is 1.74× the USA (total area).
USA vs Europe: The USA is 1.66× Europe without Russia (total area).
Mexico vs USA: The USA is 5.01× Mexico (total area).
All size comparisons

Suggested citation: SimpleMapLab (2026). Greenland vs Antarctica Size: How Much Bigger Is Antarctica? Retrieved from https://www.simplemaplab.com/size-comparisons/greenland-vs-antarctica. CC-BY 4.0.