Greenland vs Africa: Size Comparison
Africa is 13.7x larger than Greenland — see the true sizes side by side with real land-area numbers.
Africa is 13.7x larger than Greenland — see the true sizes side by side with real land-area numbers.
Greenland covers 836,330 square miles; Africa covers 11,440,827 square miles — Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland. This is the most famous illusion in cartography. On a standard Mercator world map, Greenland appears to rival Africa in size, looming huge over the North Atlantic. In reality you could fit fourteen Greenlands inside Africa with room to spare. The distortion happens because Mercator stretches everything near the poles — and Greenland sits far north while Africa straddles the equator.
Greenland vs Africa by the numbers
| Region | Land area (sq mi) |
|---|---|
| Greenland | 836,330.0 |
| Africa | 11,440,827.4 |
In other words, you could fit Greenland inside Africa about 13.7 times. Area figures are land area (square miles).
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About the author
Aryan Khan edits MapBench with a focus on practical map calculations, coordinate systems, routing concepts, open geographic data and clear limitations. Guides are written to help a reader make a better decision, not just to repeat a definition.
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