Australia vs United States

United States is 28% larger than Australia.

AustraliaUnited StatesAustralia moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
0.78×
Australia is 0.78× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 1.28× the size of Australia.
AustraliaUnited States
Area7,692,024 km²9,826,675 km²
Population27,614,411341,784,857
Density3.6 / km²35 / km²
CapitalCanberraWashington D.C.
RegionAustralia and New ZealandNorthern America
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours02

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Australia sits at about 26°S and is stretched to 1.23× its true area; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. That difference is why United States 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 Australia bigger than United States?
No. Australia is 22% smaller than United States. Australia covers 7,692,024 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
How many times does Australia fit into United States?
About 1.3 times: United States has 1.28× the area of Australia.
Why do Australia and United States look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Australia is drawn about 1.23× its true area there and United States about 1.98×. That is why United States 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, Australia or United States?
United States: 341,784,857 people against 27,614,411. Density: Australia 3.6 per km², United States 35 per km².