Canada vs United States
Canada and United States are almost exactly the same size.
CanadaUnited StatesCanada moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
1.02×
Canada is 1.02× the area of United States.
 Canada |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 9,984,670 km²#2 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 1 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 8.21× the population | 41,651,653#38 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityUnited States: 8.34× the density | 4.2 / km²#188 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationCanada: 1.03× the urban share | 83%#36 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateUnited States: 1.3× the births per woman | 1.25 per woman#171 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthCanada: 0.42 points higher | +0.94%#100 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateUnited States: 1.19× the birth rate | 8.9 per 1,000#157 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateUnited States: 1.14× the death rate | 7.9 per 1,000#72 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15United States: 2.1 points higher | 15.0%#162 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Canada: 1.9 points higher | 20.3%#30 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationCanada: 4.2 per 1,000 higher | +7.8 per 1,000#11 of 192 · 2025 | +3.6 per 1,000#26 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadAbout as many refugees for its size | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyCanada: 3.2 years longer | 82.1 years#28 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityUnited States: 1.17× the infant mortality | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsUnited States: 1.3× the doctors per person | 2.82 per 1,000#65 of 178 · 2023 | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentUnited States: 1.04× the university enrolment | 76.3%#36 of 145 · 2023 | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexCanada: 0.001 higher | 0.939#15 of 190 · 2023 | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaUnited States: 1.57× the income per person | $56,420#16 of 185 · 2025 | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPUnited States: 13.3× the economy | $2.32T2025 | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United States: 1.35× the output per person | $66,746#24 of 184 · 2025 | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthUnited States: 0.5 points higher | +1.7%#141 of 187 · 2025 | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationUnited States: 0.8 points higher | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentCanada: 1.64× the unemployment | 6.9%#58 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyUnited States: 3.67× the share in extreme poverty | 0.3%#116 of 149 · 2022 | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)United States: 10.3 higher | 31.5#107 of 149 · 2022 | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureUnited States: 0.4 points higher | 1.1% of jobs#169 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryUnited States: 0.2 points higher | 18.7% of jobs#96 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesCanada: 0.5 points higher | 80.1% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentCanada: 2.0 points higher | 3.0% of GDP#65 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsCanada: 20.3 points higher | 31.3% of GDP#100 of 168 · 2025 | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingUnited States: 1.91× the military spending | 1.6% of GDP#80 of 155 · 2025 | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersAbout the same share online | 94%#28 of 184 · 2024 | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsUnited States: 1.2× the mobile subscriptions | 94 per 100#137 of 191 · 2024 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaCanada: 1.24× the forest share | 42% of land#62 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personAbout the same CO₂ per person | 14.0 t a year#11 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyCanada: 12.9 points higher | 23.8%#96 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: 1.06× the air pollution | 6.6 µg/m³#176 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landThe same | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landUnited States: 12.3 points higher | 4.3% of land#134 of 190 · 2024 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressUnited States: 7.62× the water stress | 3.7%#132 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationUnited States: 1.33× the rain and snow | 537 mm#138 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityCanada: 1.11 higher | +0.81#48 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionCanada: 0.72 higher | +1.59#15 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateUnited States: 2.9× the homicide rate | 2.0 per 100,000#80 of 146 · 2023 | 5.8 per 100,000#46 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 | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Ottawa | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | Canadian dollar (CAD) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | English, French | English |
| 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−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +1 | +1 |
| Region | Northern America, North America | 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. Canada sits at about 60° N and is stretched to 4.1× its true area; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. That difference is why Canada 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 Canada bigger than United States?
- Yes. Canada and United States are almost exactly the same size. Canada covers 9,984,670 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does United States fit into Canada?
- About 1.0 times: Canada has 1.02× the area of United States.
- Why do Canada and United States 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 United States about 1.98×. That is why Canada 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, Canada or United States?
- United States: 341,784,857 people against 41,651,653. Density: Canada 4.2 per km², United States 35 per km².
- Which is richer, Canada or United States?
- By gross national income per person, United States: $88,810 against $56,420 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.57× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Canada or United States?
- In Canada: life expectancy at birth is 82.1 years, against 78.9 — 3.2 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Canada and United States have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Canada: constitutional monarchy; United States: presidential republic.