How big is the United States really?

The United States covers 9,826,675 km² (3,790,000 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn about 2.3 times bigger than it really is.

See the United States at its true size on the map →

True size vs the map

Both drawn at the same scale. The map keeps shapes but swells everything away from the equator.

The United States in numbers

The United States is the 3rd largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
Countries of about the same true size: Canada (9,984,670 km²), China (9,596,961 km²), Brazil (8,515,767 km²).
The United States and China are about the same size.

Why the map gets the United States wrong

The United States lies around 40°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.3 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 1.7 times too big near its middle. Most web maps use this projection because it keeps angles and shapes right for navigation, not because it shows sizes fairly.

In Globegami you can drag a copy of the United States anywhere on Earth: it keeps its true size and grows or shrinks on the map as it moves, and you can fold the map back into a globe.

Compare the United States

Areas: official totals including inland water (UN Statistics Division via Wikidata). Outlines: Natural Earth. How Globegami works