USA vs Russia Size: How Much Bigger Is Russia?

By Marko Visic · Updated Nov 11, 2026

At 6,601,668 sq mi, Russia is 1.74× the USA by total area; the USA covers 3,796,742 sq mi, 2,804,926 sq mi less. The USA has 2.44× as many people and an economy 12.0× Russia's in US dollars. Alaska, which Russia sold to the USA in 1867, makes up 17.5% of US area today.

The contiguous 48 states drawn to scale over Russia, both in equal-area projections. Russia is 2.12× the contiguous US and 1.74× the whole USA; Alaska and Hawaii, 18% of US area, are not shown.

Check this for yourself

Drag the USA over Russia in the interactive tool

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

Open in the comparison tool

USA vs Russia by the numbers

Metric	USA	Russia	Ratio
Total area (sq mi)	3,796,742	6,601,668	Russia 1.74×
Land area (sq mi)	3,531,905	6,323,482	Russia 1.79×
Population (USA July 1, 2025; Russia 2025 est.)	341,784,857	140,134,279	USA 2.44×
People per sq mi of land	96.8	22.2	USA 4.37×
GDP, current US$ (2025)	$30.86T	$2.57T	USA 12.00×
GDP at PPP (2025)	$30.86T	$7.23T	USA 4.27×
GDP per person, current US$	$90,295	$18,356	USA 4.92×
Coastline (mi)	12,380	23,396	Russia 1.89×
Land borders	2 countries, 7,458 mi	14 countries, 13,923 mi	Russia 1.87×
Highest point	Mount McKinley (Denali), 20,310 ft	Mount Elbrus, 18,510 ft	USA 1.10×
Longest river	Missouri, 2,341 mi	Yenisey-Angara, 3,442 mi	Russia 1.47×
Time zones	6 standard (50 states)	11
First-level divisions	50 states + DC	83 federal subjects*

* The CIA World Factbook's count, without Crimea and Sevastopol. Ratios divide the larger figure by the smaller.

How much bigger is Russia than the USA?

Russia's 6,601,668 sq mi is 1.74× the USA's 3,796,742 sq mi, a difference of 2,804,926 sq mi, 94% of the area of Australia. In the CIA World Factbook's geography notes Russia is the world's largest country and the USA its third largest, after Canada. Land alone gives a similar ratio, 1.79×: 6,323,482 against 3,531,905 sq mi.

The map above shows only the contiguous 48 states, 3,120,426 sq mi, and Russia is 2.12× that. Measured against the Factbook's figure for Earth's land, Russia holds 11.0% of it and the USA 6.1%.

Population: 2.44× as many people in the USA

On July 1, 2025 the USA had 341.8 million people (Census Bureau); the CIA World Factbook's 2025 estimate for Russia is 140.1 million. That is 96.8 people per square mile of land in the USA and 22.2 in Russia, so the USA is 4.37× as densely settled.

The economy: 12.0× larger in dollars

Measured at market exchange rates, the USA's 2025 GDP of $30.86 trillion was 12.00× Russia's $2.57 trillion, according to the IMF's World Economic Outlook (October 2026). At purchasing power parity Russia's GDP was $7.23 trillion, and the USA's 4.27× that. Per person, US GDP was about $90,295 and Russia's about $18,356.

In dollars, Russia's 2025 GDP was about the same as Italy's, $2.55 trillion, though Russia has 57 times Italy's area.

Alaska: the land Russia sold to the USA

On March 30, 1867, the two countries agreed that the USA would pay Russia $7.2 million in gold for Alaska, which the National Archives describes as nearly 600,000 square miles bought at under two cents an acre. The Census Bureau's Historical Statistics put the purchase at 586,412 sq mi of land and water. The treaty ran the western limit of the ceded land through the Bering Strait, on the meridian midway between the islands of Krusenstern and Ratmanoff, and the State Department's historians date the formal transfer to October 18, 1867. Alaska covers 665,384 sq mi today, water included (Census 2010), 17.5% of the USA (Alaska vs Lower 48).

Time zones and borders

Russia has 11 time zones in the CIA World Factbook, which notes that the country dropped daylight saving time in 2014. Federal law divides the 50 US states into six standard time zones, Eastern (UTC-5) through Hawaii-Aleutian (UTC-10); the contiguous states have four, and Pacific time is three hours behind Eastern.

Russia's land borders run 13,923 miles (22,407 km) and touch 14 countries, listed on our Russia vs Canada page; those of the USA run 7,458 miles (12,002 km) and touch Canada and Mexico. The two countries share no land border.

Drawn to scale: Russia next to the USA

Russia and the contiguous 48 states side by side, drawn at the same area per pixel.

Russia in a conic equal-area projection (parallels 50°N and 70°N), the contiguous US in a US Albers projection (parallels 29.5°N and 45.5°N), at one scale. Alaska and Hawaii are not drawn.

A Mercator world map enlarges both countries, Russia more: it appears at 4.9× its true area and the USA, Alaska included, at 2.3× (computed from our map data with a Mercator projection), so on such a map Russia looks about 3.7× the size of the USA instead of 1.74×.

What else is about the size of Russia or the USA?

By total area (CIA World Factbook; the US total is the Census Bureau's, which the Factbook also uses):

Russia is 1.71× Canada (Russia vs Canada), and Canada is 1.02× the USA (USA vs Canada).
The USA is 1.02× China (USA vs China).
Russia is 2.21× Australia, and the USA is 1.27× Australia.
The USA is 1.66× Europe without Russia, and Russia is 2.89× it (USA vs Europe).

Methodology and sources

Area: USA: US Census Bureau, State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates (2010) (the total includes inland, coastal, Great Lakes and territorial water; the Factbook uses the same total). Russia: CIA World Factbook, final edition: Russia (total and land area). Russia's total does not include Crimea, which the Factbook lists under Ukraine. Earth's land, Australia, Canada, China and Italy: the Factbook's World, Australia, Canada, China and Italy entries; Europe without Russia sums 45 Factbook entries (see USA vs Europe).
Population: USA: US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates (July 1, 2025). Russia: CIA World Factbook, 2025 estimate.
GDP: IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026), GDP in current US dollars (2025) and IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026), GDP at purchasing power parity (2025), the USA, Russia and Italy from the same release. GDP per person divides that GDP by the populations above.
Alaska Purchase: National Archives, Check for the Purchase of Alaska (1868), with the transcript of the Treaty of Cession of March 30, 1867 (price and boundary); Office of the Historian, Purchase of Alaska, 1867 (transfer date); US Census Bureau, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, Series J 1-2 (territorial expansion; areas determined in 1912 and adjusted to the 1960 remeasurements) (586,412 sq mi). Alaska today: US Census Bureau, State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates (2010).
Coastline, borders, highest points, rivers, time zones, divisions: CIA World Factbook, final edition: United States and CIA World Factbook, final edition: Russia; US zones also in Code of Federal Regulations, 49 CFR Part 71, Standard Time Zone Boundaries. Miles and feet are converted from the Factbook's kilometers and meters.
Drawings and Mercator: Shapes from us-atlas (US Census Bureau cartographic boundaries) and world-atlas (Natural Earth 1:50m) for the drawings. The US is drawn as the contiguous 48 states and scaled with their area (3,120,426 sq mi, Census 2010 total less Alaska and Hawaii). Mercator factors are computed from our map data with a Mercator projection (area on the map divided by true area).

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Russia covers 6,601,668 sq mi and the USA 3,796,742 sq mi, so Russia is 1.74× the USA by total area and 1.79× by land area. Against the contiguous 48 states alone (3,120,426 sq mi) Russia is 2.12×.

By 2,804,926 sq mi, which is 94% of Australia's area (2,988,902 sq mi on the CIA World Factbook's figures).

Yes, on the CIA World Factbook's figures: Russia is first, Canada second and the USA third. Canada is 1.02× the USA by total area.

The USA had 341.8 million people on July 1, 2025 (Census Bureau) and Russia 140.1 million (CIA World Factbook, 2025 estimate), so the USA has 2.44× as many. Per square mile of land that is 96.8 people in the USA and 22.2 in Russia.

The USA’s. In 2025 US GDP was $30.86 trillion and Russia’s $2.57 trillion at market exchange rates, 12.00× as much, according to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook (October 2026). At purchasing power parity the USA was 4.27× Russia, $30.86 trillion against $7.23 trillion.

On March 30, 1867, the two countries agreed that the USA would pay Russia $7.2 million in gold for Alaska, and the territory was formally transferred on October 18, 1867. The National Archives describes the purchase as nearly 600,000 square miles at under two cents an acre; the Census Bureau's Historical Statistics give 586,412 sq mi of land and water.

Russia has 11, according to the CIA World Factbook, and has not used daylight saving time since 2014. Under federal law the 50 US states have six standard time zones, Eastern (UTC-5) through Hawaii-Aleutian (UTC-10), and the contiguous states four, three hours apart from Eastern to Pacific.

Not on land. The CIA World Factbook lists Canada and Mexico as the only land neighbors of the USA, and the USA is not among Russia's 14. The 1867 treaty ran the western limit of Alaska through the Bering Strait, on the meridian midway between the islands of Krusenstern and Ratmanoff.

Russia has 14 land neighbors, along 13,923 miles (22,407 km) of border in the CIA World Factbook. The longest stretch is with Kazakhstan, 4,750 miles (7,644 km), then China, 2,597 miles (4,179 km) in two sections. The USA has two land neighbors and 7,458 miles (12,002 km) of land borders.

Mount McKinley (Denali) in Alaska, 20,310 ft (6,190 m), is the highest point in the USA. Russia's is Mount Elbrus, 18,510 ft (5,642 m), which the CIA World Factbook's geography notes call Europe's tallest peak.

Not in the figures used here. The CIA World Factbook's 6,601,668 sq mi (17,098,242 km²) for Russia does not count Crimea: the Factbook lists Crimea under Ukraine, notes that Russia annexed it in 2014 (about 10,400 sq mi, 27,000 km²) and says the United States does not recognize the annexation.

Related size comparisons

Open the USA and Russia in the interactive tool
Russia vs Canada: Russia is 1.71× Canada (total area).
USA vs Canada: Canada is 1.02× the USA (total area).
USA vs China: The USA is 1.02× China (total area).
USA vs Europe: The USA is 1.66× Europe without Russia (total area).
Alaska vs Lower 48: The lower 48 is 5.18× Alaska (land area).
Greenland vs USA: The USA is 4.54× Greenland (total area).
All size comparisons

Suggested citation: SimpleMapLab (2026). USA vs Russia Size. Retrieved from https://www.simplemaplab.com/size-comparisons/usa-vs-russia. CC-BY 4.0.