Afghanistan vs Canada
Canada is 15.3 times larger than Afghanistan. Afghanistan would fit into Canada about 15 times.
AfghanistanCanadaAfghanistan moved onto Canada · Equal-area projection
0.07×
Afghanistan is 0.07× the area of Canada. Put the other way, Canada is 15.3× the size of Afghanistan.
 Afghanistan |  Canada | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaCanada: 15.3× the area | 652,230 km²#40 of 194 | 9,984,670 km²#2 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 6 | 1 |
| People | ||
| PopulationAfghanistan: 1.05× the population | 43,844,111#36 of 194 · 2025 | 41,651,653#38 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityAfghanistan: 16.1× the density | 67 / km²#119 of 194 | 4.2 / km²#188 of 194 |
| Urban populationCanada: 3.2× the urban share | 26%#179 of 192 · 2025 | 83%#36 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateAfghanistan: 3.81× the births per woman | 4.76 per woman#9 of 192 · 2024 | 1.25 per woman#171 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthAfghanistan: 1.83 points higher | +2.77%#19 of 192 · 2025 | +0.94%#100 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateAfghanistan: 3.93× the birth rate | 35.0 per 1,000#9 of 192 · 2024 | 8.9 per 1,000#157 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateCanada: 1.39× the death rate | 5.7 per 1,000#148 of 192 · 2024 | 7.9 per 1,000#72 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Afghanistan: 27.6 points higher | 42.6%#11 of 192 · 2025 | 15.0%#162 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Canada: 17.9 points higher | 2.4%#185 of 192 · 2025 | 20.3%#30 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationCanada: 9.5 per 1,000 higher | −1.7 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2025 | +7.8 per 1,000#11 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadAfghanistan: 6,093× the refugees for its size | 60.93 per 1,000#6 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyCanada: 15.8 years longer | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 | 82.1 years#28 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityAfghanistan: 10.3× the infant mortality | 48.3 per 1,000 births#13 of 191 · 2024 | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsCanada: 8.81× the doctors per person | 0.32 per 1,000#136 of 178 · 2023 | 2.82 per 1,000#65 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolmentCanada: 7.0× the university enrolment | 10.9%#128 of 145 · 2020 | 76.3%#36 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexCanada: 0.443 higher | 0.496#178 of 190 · 2023 | 0.939#15 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaCanada: 145× the income per person | $390#184 of 185 · 2024 | $56,420#16 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPCanada: 130× the economy | $17.78B2024 | $2.32T2025 |
| Income group | Low income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Canada: 29.9× the output per person | $2,236#174 of 184 · 2024 | $66,746#24 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthAfghanistan: 0.2 points higher | +1.9%#134 of 187 · 2024 | +1.7%#141 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationCanada: 8.7 points higher | −6.6%#176 of 176 · 2024 | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentAfghanistan: 1.94× the unemployment | 13.4%#20 of 178 · 2025 | 6.9%#58 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 0.3%#116 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 31.5#107 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureAfghanistan: 50.5 points higher | 51.6% of jobs#23 of 178 · 2025 | 1.1% of jobs#169 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryAfghanistan: 0.2 points higher | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 | 18.7% of jobs#96 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesCanada: 50.6 points higher | 29.5% of jobs#165 of 178 · 2025 | 80.1% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentCanada: 2.9 points higher | 0.1% of GDP#158 of 184 · 2021 | 3.0% of GDP#65 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsCanada: 15.6 points higher | 15.7% of GDP#146 of 168 · 2024 | 31.3% of GDP#100 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingAfghanistan: 1.12× the military spending | 1.8% of GDP#75 of 155 · 2021 | 1.6% of GDP#80 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersCanada: 5.86× the share online | 16%#178 of 184 · 2024 | 94%#28 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsCanada: 1.57× the mobile subscriptions | 60 per 100#176 of 191 · 2024 | 94 per 100#137 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaCanada: 22.1× the forest share | 2% of land#172 of 192 · 2024 | 42% of land#62 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personCanada: 50× the CO₂ per person | 0.28 t a year#164 of 185 · 2024 | 14.0 t a year#11 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyCanada: 3.8 points higher | 20.0%#107 of 190 · 2022 | 23.8%#96 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityCanada: 12.2 points higher | 87.8%#143 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Afghanistan: 5.74× the air pollution | 37.9 µg/m³#26 of 191 · 2023 | 6.6 µg/m³#176 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landCanada: 9.3 points higher | 3.6% of land#174 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landAfghanistan: 7.7 points higher | 12.0% of land#84 of 190 · 2024 | 4.3% of land#134 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressAfghanistan: 14.8× the water stress | 54.8%#33 of 176 · 2022 | 3.7%#132 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationCanada: 1.64× the rain and snow | 327 mm#152 of 180 · 2022 | 537 mm#138 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityCanada: 2.85 higher | −2.04#186 of 193 · 2025 | +0.81#48 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionCanada: 2.90 higher | −1.31#173 of 193 · 2025 | +1.59#15 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateAfghanistan: 2.0× the homicide rate | 4.0 per 100,000#57 of 146 · 2021 | 2.0 per 100,000#80 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Theocracytheocratic; the United States does not recognize the Taliban Government | Constitutional monarchyfederal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm; federal and state authorities and responsibilities regulated in constitution |
| Member of | — | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Kabul | Ottawa |
| Currency | Afghani (AFN) | Canadian dollar (CAD) |
| Official languages | Arabic, Pashto, Uzbek, Turkmen, Dari, Balochi, Nuristani, Pamir, Pashayi | English, French |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+4:30 | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−8 to UTC−3:30, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +93 | +1 |
| Region | Southern Asia, Asia | Northern America, North America |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Afghanistan sits at about 34° N and is stretched to 1.45× its true area; Canada at 60° N is stretched to 4.1×. That difference is why Canada looks so much bigger than it is next to Afghanistan. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Afghanistan bigger than Canada?
- No. Afghanistan is 15.3 times smaller than Canada. Afghanistan covers 652,230 km² and Canada covers 9,984,670 km².
- How many times does Afghanistan fit into Canada?
- About 15 times: Canada has 15.3× the area of Afghanistan.
- Why do Afghanistan and Canada look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Afghanistan is drawn about 1.45× its true area there and Canada about 4.1×. That is why Canada looks so much bigger than it really is next to Afghanistan. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Afghanistan or Canada?
- Afghanistan: 43,844,111 people against 41,651,653. Density: Afghanistan 67 per km², Canada 4.2 per km².
- Which is richer, Afghanistan or Canada?
- By gross national income per person, Canada: $56,420 against $390 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2024) — 145× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Afghanistan or Canada?
- In Canada: life expectancy at birth is 82.1 years, against 66.3 — 15.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Afghanistan and Canada have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Afghanistan: theocracy; Canada: constitutional monarchy.