The True Size of Greenland
Compare Greenland with other countries and regions on an interactive map to see their actual relative sizes.
Search countries
Type a country name and press Enter to add it to the map.
How big is Greenland?
Greenland covers about 2,166,086 km² (836,330 sq mi). On a Mercator map its apparent size depends entirely on latitude — drag the outline above onto another part of the world to see how it really compares.
Greenland on a Mercator map
The centre of this country lies at 73° N, where the Mercator projection stretches area by about 16.2×. Its outline takes up as much room on the map as 35,043,380 km² would at the equator.
Its real area is 2,166,086 km². The country closest to that size: Algeria.
Greenland compared with other countries
Total areas including inland water; ratios are rounded.
| Country | Area (km²) | Compared with Greenland |
|---|---|---|
 Russia | 17,098,242 | 7.9× larger |
 Canada | 9,984,670 | 4.6× larger |
 United States | 9,833,517 | 4.5× larger |
 China | 9,596,960 | 4.4× larger |
 Brazil | 8,515,770 | 3.9× larger |
 Australia | 7,741,220 | 3.6× larger |
 India | 3,287,263 | 1.5× larger |
 Argentina | 2,780,400 | 1.3× larger |
 Mexico | 1,964,375 | 1.1× smaller |
 Indonesia | 1,904,569 | 1.1× smaller |
 Pakistan | 796,095 | 2.7× smaller |
 France | 643,801 | 3.4× smaller |
 Ukraine | 603,550 | 3.6× smaller |
 Japan | 377,915 | 5.7× smaller |
 Poland | 312,685 | 6.9× smaller |
 New Zealand | 268,838 | 8.1× smaller |
 United Kingdom | 243,610 | 8.9× smaller |
 Netherlands | 41,543 | 52× smaller |
Countries closest in size to Greenland
Measured on the globe from the same outlines the map draws, so the figures are approximate. Drag any of them next to Greenland to see the difference for yourself.
How big Greenland looks at other latitudes
Drag the outline so its centre sits on each of these latitudes and the map draws it this many times larger than its real area. Mercator stretches area roughly by the square of the scale, so the growth is steep.
| Where it actually sits (73° N) | 16.2× its real size |
| At the equator (Indonesia, Kenya, Ecuador) | its real size |
| At 30° (Egypt, northern Mexico, central Argentina) | 1.3× its real size |
| At 45° (northern Italy, Minnesota, New Zealand) | 2.1× its real size |
| At 60° (Oslo, Helsinki, southern Alaska) | 4.3× its real size |
| At 72° (central Greenland) | 13.7× its real size |
Questions about the size of Greenland
How big is Greenland?+
Greenland has a total area of about 2,166,086 km² (836,330 sq mi), including inland water. The country closest to it in size is Algeria.
Is Greenland bigger than Algeria?+
Not quite. Algeria covers about 2,322,794 km², roughly 7.8% more than Greenland. Put both on the map and the difference stays the same wherever you drag them, because every outline is drawn at its true size.
Why does Greenland look bigger on a map than it really is?+
Because the Mercator projection stretches area the further you get from the equator. The centre of Greenland is at 73° N, where the map draws it about 16.2× too large — as much room as 35,043,380 km² would take at the equator. Drag the outline toward the equator and it shrinks to its honest size.