Antarctica vs United States
Antarctica is 42% larger than United States.
AntarcticaUnited StatesAntarctica moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
1.42×
Antarctica is 1.42× the area of United States.
 Antarctica |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAntarctica: 1.42× the area | 14,000,000 km² | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 77,678× the population | 4,4002009 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityUnited States: 110,668× the density | 0.00 / km² | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban population | — | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rate | — | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growth | — | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rate | — | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rate | — | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15 | — | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65 | — | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migration | — | +3.6 per 1,000#26 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | — | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancy | — | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortality | — | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | — | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development Index | — | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | — | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| Unemployment | — | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agriculture | — | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industry | — | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in services | — | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | — | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spending | — | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet users | — | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | — | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest area | — | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per person | — | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energy | — | 10.9%#139 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricity | — | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5) | — | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected land | — | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable land | — | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stress | — | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| Precipitation | — | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stability | — | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruption | — | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Governed under the Antarctic Treaty | Independent state |
| Government | — | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | — | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | — | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | — | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | — | English |
| Traffic drives | — | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 · UTC−3 to UTC+12, 8 time zones | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | — | +1 |
| Region | Antarctica | 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. Antarctica sits at about 85° S and is stretched to 129× its true area; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. That difference is why Antarctica looks so much bigger than it is next to United States. 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 United States?
- Yes. Antarctica is 42% larger than United States. Antarctica covers 14,000,000 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does United States fit into Antarctica?
- About 1.4 times: Antarctica has 1.42× the area of United States.
- Why do Antarctica and United States 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 United States about 1.98×. That is why Antarctica looks so much bigger than it really is next to United States. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Antarctica or United States?
- United States: 341,784,857 people against 4,400. Density: Antarctica 0.00 per km², United States 35 per km².