China vs United States
United States and China are almost exactly the same size.
ChinaUnited StatesChina moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
0.98×
China is 0.98× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 1.02× the size of China.
| China | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 9,596,961 km² | 9,826,675 km² |
| Population | 1,406,585,000 | 341,784,857 |
| Density | 147 / km² | 35 / km² |
| Capital | Beijing | Washington D.C. |
| Region | Eastern Asia | Northern America |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 17 | 2 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. China sits at about 37°N and is stretched to 1.56× its true area; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is China bigger than United States?
- No. China and United States are almost exactly the same size. China covers 9,596,961 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does China fit into United States?
- About 1.0 times: United States has 1.02× the area of China.
- Why do China and United States look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. China is drawn about 1.56× its true area there and United States about 1.98×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, China or United States?
- China: 1,406,585,000 people against 341,784,857. Density: China 147 per km², United States 35 per km².