Canada vs Switzerland
Canada is 242 times larger than Switzerland. Switzerland would fit into Canada about 242 times.
CanadaSwitzerlandCanada moved onto Switzerland · Equal-area projection
242×
Canada is 242× the area of Switzerland.
 Canada |  Switzerland | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaCanada: 242× the area | 9,984,670 km²#2 of 194 | 41,291 km²#132 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 1 | 5 |
| People | ||
| PopulationCanada: 4.58× the population | 41,651,653#38 of 194 · 2025 | 9,092,436#99 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySwitzerland: 52.8× the density | 4.2 / km²#188 of 194 | 220 / km²#46 of 194 |
| Urban populationSwitzerland: 1.03× the urban share | 83%#36 of 192 · 2025 | 86%#30 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSwitzerland: 1.03× the births per woman | 1.25 per woman#171 of 192 · 2024 | 1.29 per woman#170 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSwitzerland: 0.02 points higher | +0.94%#100 of 192 · 2025 | +0.96%#99 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateAbout the same birth rate | 8.9 per 1,000#157 of 192 · 2024 | 8.7 per 1,000#159 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateAbout the same death rate | 7.9 per 1,000#72 of 192 · 2024 | 8.0 per 1,000#70 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Canada: 0.1 points higher | 15.0%#162 of 192 · 2025 | 14.9%#165 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Switzerland: 0.1 points higher | 20.3%#30 of 192 · 2025 | 20.4%#29 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationCanada: 3.7 per 1,000 higher | +7.8 per 1,000#11 of 192 · 2025 | +4.1 per 1,000#24 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySwitzerland: 2.3 years longer | 82.1 years#28 of 192 · 2024 | 84.4 years#4 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityCanada: 1.38× the infant mortality | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 | 3.4 per 1,000 births#159 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSwitzerland: 1.59× the doctors per person | 2.82 per 1,000#65 of 178 · 2023 | 4.48 per 1,000#18 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentCanada: 1.04× the university enrolment | 76.3%#36 of 145 · 2023 | 73.5%#41 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSwitzerland: 0.031 higher | 0.939#15 of 190 · 2023 | 0.970#2 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSwitzerland: 1.96× the income per person | $56,420#16 of 185 · 2025 | $110,330#1 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPCanada: 2.22× the economy | $2.32T2025 | $1.04T2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Switzerland: 1.54× the output per person | $66,746#24 of 184 · 2025 | $102,513#6 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthCanada: 0.4 points higher | +1.7%#141 of 187 · 2025 | +1.3%#148 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationCanada: 1.9 points higher | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 | +0.2%#160 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentCanada: 1.41× the unemployment | 6.9%#58 of 178 · 2025 | 4.9%#96 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyCanada: 3.0× the share in extreme poverty | 0.3%#116 of 149 · 2022 | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Switzerland: 2.0 higher | 31.5#107 of 149 · 2022 | 33.5#87 of 149 · 2023 |
| Jobs in agricultureSwitzerland: 1.1 points higher | 1.1% of jobs#169 of 178 · 2025 | 2.2% of jobs#155 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySwitzerland: 0.9 points higher | 18.7% of jobs#96 of 178 · 2025 | 19.6% of jobs#83 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesCanada: 1.9 points higher | 80.1% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 | 78.2% of jobs#21 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentCanada: 3.0 points higher | 3.0% of GDP#65 of 184 · 2025 | 0.0% of GDP#162 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSwitzerland: 46.8 points higher | 31.3% of GDP#100 of 168 · 2025 | 78.1% of GDP#17 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingCanada: 2.14× the military spending | 1.6% of GDP#80 of 155 · 2025 | 0.8% of GDP#131 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSwitzerland: 1.03× the share online | 94%#28 of 184 · 2024 | 97%#15 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSwitzerland: 1.37× the mobile subscriptions | 94 per 100#137 of 191 · 2024 | 129 per 100#54 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaCanada: 1.31× the forest share | 42% of land#62 of 192 · 2024 | 32% of land#98 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personCanada: 3.74× the CO₂ per person | 14.0 t a year#11 of 185 · 2024 | 3.75 t a year#68 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySwitzerland: 3.9 points higher | 23.8%#96 of 190 · 2021 | 27.7%#86 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Switzerland: 1.26× the air pollution | 6.6 µg/m³#176 of 191 · 2023 | 8.3 µg/m³#167 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landCanada: 0.4 points higher | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 | 12.5% of land#135 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSwitzerland: 5.8 points higher | 4.3% of land#134 of 190 · 2024 | 10.1% of land#101 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSwitzerland: 1.76× the water stress | 3.7%#132 of 176 · 2022 | 6.5%#108 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSwitzerland: 2.86× the rain and snow | 537 mm#138 of 180 · 2022 | 1,537 mm#55 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySwitzerland: 0.31 higher | +0.81#48 of 193 · 2025 | +1.12#28 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSwitzerland: 0.39 higher | +1.59#15 of 193 · 2025 | +1.98#3 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateCanada: 3.33× the homicide rate | 2.0 per 100,000#80 of 146 · 2023 | 0.6 per 100,000#132 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyfederal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm; federal and state authorities and responsibilities regulated in constitution | Parliamentary republicfederal republic (formally a confederation) |
| Member of | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 | Schengen Area, OECD |
| Capital | Ottawa | Bern |
| Currency | Canadian dollar (CAD) | Swiss franc (CHF) |
| Official languages | English, French | German, French, Italian, Romansh |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−8 to UTC−3:30, 6 time zones | UTC+1, summer time UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +1 | +41 |
| Region | Northern America, North America | Western Europe, Europe |
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. Canada sits at about 60° N and is stretched to 4.1× its true area; Switzerland at 47° N is stretched to 2.13×. That difference is why Canada looks so much bigger than it is next to Switzerland. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Canada bigger than Switzerland?
- Yes. Canada is 242 times larger than Switzerland. Canada covers 9,984,670 km² and Switzerland covers 41,291 km².
- How many times does Switzerland fit into Canada?
- About 242 times: Canada has 242× the area of Switzerland.
- Why do Canada and Switzerland look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Canada is drawn about 4.1× its true area there and Switzerland about 2.13×. That is why Canada looks so much bigger than it really is next to Switzerland. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Canada or Switzerland?
- Canada: 41,651,653 people against 9,092,436. Density: Canada 4.2 per km², Switzerland 220 per km².
- Which is richer, Canada or Switzerland?
- By gross national income per person, Switzerland: $110,330 against $56,420 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.96× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Canada or Switzerland?
- In Switzerland: life expectancy at birth is 84.4 years, against 82.1 — 2.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Canada and Switzerland have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Canada: constitutional monarchy; Switzerland: parliamentary republic.