Antarctica vs Australia
Antarctica is 82% larger than Australia. Australia would fit into Antarctica about 1.8 times.
AntarcticaAustraliaAntarctica moved onto Australia · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
1.82×
Antarctica is 1.82× the area of Australia.
 Antarctica |  Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAntarctica: 1.82× the area | 14,000,000 km² | 7,692,024 km²#6 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationAustralia: 6,276× the population | 4,4002009 | 27,614,411#55 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityAustralia: 11,423× the density | 0.00 / km² | 3.6 / km²#193 of 194 |
| Urban population | — | 88%#27 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rate | — | 1.48 per woman#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growth | — | +1.53%#66 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rate | — | 10.7 per 1,000#130 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rate | — | 6.9 per 1,000#110 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15 | — | 17.7%#133 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65 | — | 18.1%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migration | — | +5.0 per 1,000#20 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | — | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancy | — | 83.1 years#16 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortality | — | 3.1 per 1,000 births#164 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | — | 4.09 per 1,000#29 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 108.4%#6 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development Index | — | 0.958#7 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $64,120#11 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $1.8T2025 |
| Income group | — | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $71,934#22 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +1.4%#145 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2025 |
| Unemployment | — | 4.1%#112 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 0.9%#88 of 149 · 2020 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 33.8#83 of 149 · 2020 |
| Jobs in agriculture | — | 2.2% of jobs#155 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industry | — | 19.3% of jobs#85 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in services | — | 78.5% of jobs#18 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | — | 2.1% of GDP#89 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 23.2% of GDP#120 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | — | 1.9% of GDP#68 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet users | — | 96%#19 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | — | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest area | — | 17% of land#127 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per person | — | 14.1 t a year#10 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energy | — | 12.3%#129 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricity | — | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5) | — | 6.4 µg/m³#177 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected land | — | 22.0% of land#71 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable land | — | 4.1% of land#138 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stress | — | 4.7%#123 of 176 · 2022 |
| Precipitation | — | 534 mm#140 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stability | — | +0.78#52 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruption | — | +1.84#10 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 0.9 per 100,000#110 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Governed under the Antarctic Treaty | Independent state |
| Government | — | Constitutional monarchyfederal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm |
| Member of | — | OECD, G20 |
| Capital | — | Canberra |
| Currency | — | Australian dollar (AUD) |
| Official languages | — | English, Australian English, Auslan |
| Traffic drives | — | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+3 · UTC−3 to UTC+12, 8 time zones | UTC+10, summer time UTC+11 · UTC+8 to UTC+10:30, 5 time zones |
| Calling code | — | +61 |
| Region | Antarctica | Australia and New Zealand, Oceania |
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. Antarctica sits at about 85° S and is stretched to 129× its true area; Australia at 26° S is stretched to 1.23×. That difference is why Antarctica looks so much bigger than it is next to Australia. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Antarctica bigger than Australia?
- Yes. Antarctica is 82% larger than Australia. Antarctica covers 14,000,000 km² and Australia covers 7,692,024 km².
- How many times does Australia fit into Antarctica?
- About 1.8 times: Antarctica has 1.82× the area of Australia.
- Why do Antarctica and Australia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Antarctica is drawn about 129× its true area there and Australia about 1.23×. That is why Antarctica looks so much bigger than it really is next to Australia. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Antarctica or Australia?
- Australia: 27,614,411 people against 4,400. Density: Antarctica 0.00 per km², Australia 3.6 per km².