Switzerland vs United States
United States is 238 times larger than Switzerland. Switzerland would fit into United States about 238 times.
SwitzerlandUnited StatesSwitzerland moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.0×
Switzerland is 0.0× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 238× the size of Switzerland.
 Switzerland |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaUnited States: 238× the area | 41,291 km²#132 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 5 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 37.6× the population | 9,092,436#99 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySwitzerland: 6.33× the density | 220 / km²#46 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationSwitzerland: 1.07× the urban share | 86%#30 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateUnited States: 1.26× the births per woman | 1.29 per woman#170 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSwitzerland: 0.44 points higher | +0.96%#99 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateUnited States: 1.22× the birth rate | 8.7 per 1,000#159 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateUnited States: 1.13× the death rate | 8.0 per 1,000#70 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15United States: 2.2 points higher | 14.9%#165 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Switzerland: 2.0 points higher | 20.4%#29 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSwitzerland: 0.5 per 1,000 higher | +4.1 per 1,000#24 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 expectancySwitzerland: 5.5 years longer | 84.4 years#4 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityUnited States: 1.62× the infant mortality | 3.4 per 1,000 births#159 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSwitzerland: 1.22× the doctors per person | 4.48 per 1,000#18 of 178 · 2022 | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentUnited States: 1.08× the university enrolment | 73.5%#41 of 145 · 2024 | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexSwitzerland: 0.032 higher | 0.970#2 of 190 · 2023 | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSwitzerland: 1.24× the income per person | $110,330#1 of 185 · 2025 | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPUnited States: 29.5× the economy | $1.04T2025 | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Switzerland: 1.14× the output per person | $102,513#6 of 184 · 2025 | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthUnited States: 0.9 points higher | +1.3%#148 of 187 · 2025 | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationUnited States: 2.7 points higher | +0.2%#160 of 176 · 2025 | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentSwitzerland: 1.17× the unemployment | 4.9%#96 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyUnited States: 11× the share in extreme poverty | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2023 | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)United States: 8.3 higher | 33.5#87 of 149 · 2023 | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureSwitzerland: 0.7 points higher | 2.2% of jobs#155 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySwitzerland: 0.7 points higher | 19.6% of jobs#83 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited States: 1.4 points higher | 78.2% of jobs#21 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentUnited States: 1.0 points higher | 0.0% of GDP#162 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSwitzerland: 67.1 points higher | 78.1% of GDP#17 of 168 · 2025 | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingUnited States: 4.11× the military spending | 0.8% of GDP#131 of 155 · 2025 | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersAbout the same share online | 97%#15 of 184 · 2025 | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSwitzerland: 1.14× the mobile subscriptions | 129 per 100#54 of 191 · 2024 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaUnited States: 1.06× the forest share | 32% of land#98 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personUnited States: 3.63× the CO₂ per person | 3.75 t a year#68 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySwitzerland: 16.8 points higher | 27.7%#86 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)Switzerland: 1.19× the air pollution | 8.3 µg/m³#167 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landUnited States: 0.4 points higher | 12.5% of land#135 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landUnited States: 6.5 points higher | 10.1% of land#101 of 190 · 2024 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressUnited States: 4.34× the water stress | 6.5%#108 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSwitzerland: 2.15× the rain and snow | 1,537 mm#55 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySwitzerland: 1.42 higher | +1.12#28 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSwitzerland: 1.11 higher | +1.98#3 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateUnited States: 9.67× the homicide rate | 0.6 per 100,000#132 of 146 · 2023 | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicfederal republic (formally a confederation) | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | Schengen Area, OECD | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Bern | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | Swiss franc (CHF) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | German, French, Italian, Romansh | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+1, summer time UTC+2 | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +41 | +1 |
| Region | Western Europe, Europe | 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. Switzerland sits at about 47° N and is stretched to 2.13× 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 Switzerland bigger than United States?
- No. Switzerland is 238 times smaller than United States. Switzerland covers 41,291 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does Switzerland fit into United States?
- About 238 times: United States has 238× the area of Switzerland.
- Why do Switzerland and United States look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Switzerland is drawn about 2.13× 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, Switzerland or United States?
- United States: 341,784,857 people against 9,092,436. Density: Switzerland 220 per km², United States 35 per km².
- Which is richer, Switzerland or United States?
- By gross national income per person, Switzerland: $110,330 against $88,810 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.24× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Switzerland or United States?
- In Switzerland: life expectancy at birth is 84.4 years, against 78.9 — 5.5 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Switzerland and United States have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Switzerland: parliamentary republic; United States: presidential republic.