Australia vs United States
United States is 28% larger than Australia.
AustraliaUnited StatesAustralia moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.78×
Australia is 0.78× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 1.28× the size of Australia.
 Australia |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaUnited States: 1.28× the area | 7,692,024 km²#6 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 12.4× the population | 27,614,411#55 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityUnited States: 9.69× the density | 3.6 / km²#193 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationAustralia: 1.09× the urban share | 88%#27 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateUnited States: 1.1× the births per woman | 1.48 per woman#138 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthAustralia: 1.01 points higher | +1.53%#66 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateAbout the same birth rate | 10.7 per 1,000#130 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateUnited States: 1.3× the death rate | 6.9 per 1,000#110 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Australia: 0.6 points higher | 17.7%#133 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65United States: 0.3 points higher | 18.1%#41 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationAustralia: 1.4 per 1,000 higher | +5.0 per 1,000#20 of 192 · 2025 | +3.6 per 1,000#26 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyAustralia: 4.2 years longer | 83.1 years#16 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityUnited States: 1.77× the infant mortality | 3.1 per 1,000 births#164 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsAustralia: 1.11× the doctors per person | 4.09 per 1,000#29 of 178 · 2022 | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentAustralia: 1.37× the university enrolment | 108.4%#6 of 145 · 2024 | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexAustralia: 0.020 higher | 0.958#7 of 190 · 2023 | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaUnited States: 1.39× the income per person | $64,120#11 of 185 · 2025 | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPUnited States: 17.1× the economy | $1.8T2025 | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United States: 1.25× the output per person | $71,934#22 of 184 · 2025 | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthUnited States: 0.8 points higher | +1.4%#145 of 187 · 2025 | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationThe same | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2025 | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentAbout the same unemployment | 4.1%#112 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyUnited States: 1.22× the share in extreme poverty | 0.9%#88 of 149 · 2020 | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)United States: 8.0 higher | 33.8#83 of 149 · 2020 | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureAustralia: 0.7 points higher | 2.2% of jobs#155 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryAustralia: 0.4 points higher | 19.3% of jobs#85 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited States: 1.1 points higher | 78.5% of jobs#18 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentAustralia: 1.1 points higher | 2.1% of GDP#89 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsAustralia: 12.2 points higher | 23.2% of GDP#120 of 168 · 2025 | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingUnited States: 1.63× the military spending | 1.9% of GDP#68 of 155 · 2025 | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersAbout the same share online | 96%#19 of 184 · 2024 | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsAbout as many mobile subscriptions | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaUnited States: 1.94× the forest share | 17% of land#127 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personAustralia: 1.04× the CO₂ per person | 14.1 t a year#10 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyAustralia: 1.4 points higher | 12.3%#129 of 190 · 2021 | 10.9%#139 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)United States: 1.09× the air pollution | 6.4 µg/m³#177 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landAustralia: 9.1 points higher | 22.0% of land#71 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landUnited States: 12.5 points higher | 4.1% of land#138 of 190 · 2024 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressUnited States: 6.0× the water stress | 4.7%#123 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationUnited States: 1.34× the rain and snow | 534 mm#140 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityAustralia: 1.08 higher | +0.78#52 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionAustralia: 0.97 higher | +1.84#10 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateUnited States: 6.44× the homicide rate | 0.9 per 100,000#110 of 146 · 2023 | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyfederal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | OECD, G20 | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Canberra | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | English, Australian English, Auslan | English |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+10, summer time UTC+11 · UTC+8 to UTC+10:30, 5 time zones | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +61 | +1 |
| Region | Australia and New Zealand, Oceania | 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. 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.
- Which is richer, Australia or United States?
- By gross national income per person, United States: $88,810 against $64,120 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.39× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Australia or United States?
- In Australia: life expectancy at birth is 83.1 years, against 78.9 — 4.2 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Australia and United States have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Australia: constitutional monarchy; United States: presidential republic.