You would be making a big mistake if you judged how big Africa is compared to the USA based on what you see on the world map.
Looking at the flat map of the world, it appears that countries close to the poles seem larger than those closer to the equator. It turns out Africa is more than three times bigger than the US.
Africa is bigger than China, India, and most of Europe. Keep reading the article to get more details about the size of Africa compared to the USA and other continents of the world and why Africa looks small on the map.
What is the size of Africa compared to the USA?
The United States of America (USA) is a country counted as part of the continent of North America. The US has 50 states, a federal district, and five major self-governing territories.
The country has an area of 9.8 million km² (3.8 million square miles), making it the world’s fourth-largest country.
Conversely, Africa is a continent with 54 countries, as recognized by the United Nations. It is the second largest continent after Asia, with 30.37 million km² (11.7 million square miles).
That said, with a total area of 11.7 million mi² in Africa, it is over three times bigger than the US, which has a total area of 3.8 million mi².
How big is Africa compared to other continents?
As you know, the earth is spherical. Hence, accurately depicting its surface on a two-dimensional map is impossible.
Consequently, the distortion in sizes of different locations on the map is because the spherical earth is presented on a cylinder pole.
As a result, locations closest to the pole stretch beyond their actual size. That is why countries in North America and Europe look bigger than Africa. They are closer to the pole. As such, their sizes have expanded, giving viewers an inaccurate presentation.
On the other hand, Africa, India, the Middle East, Australia, and countries in South America are bigger than what appears on the map.
Africa is bigger than the USA, China, India, and Europe combined. It turns out that Algeria alone has a total area bigger than Italy, Germany, Poland, and Spain.
How big is Africa compared to Asia?
Asia is the earth’s largest continent, with a total area of 44.58 million km² and 48 countries, according to the United Nations. Africa is the second largest continent after Asia, with a 30.37 million km² comprising 54 countries.
Russia is the largest country in Asia and the world, with a landmass of 16.38 million km². China comes second in Asia and the world with a total area of 9.4 million km².
In contrast, Algeria is the biggest country in Africa, with an area exceeding 2.38 million square kilometers as of 2020.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan follows with a total area of around 2.34 million and 1.88 million square kilometers, respectively.
In terms of population Asia also beats Africa with over 4.7 billion people compared to 1.4 billion in Africa. China’s population is over 1.4 billion, almost equal to Africa’s. Also, India has a population of over 1.3 billion people.
Nigeria has the largest population in Africa, with 206.1 million people, followed by Ethiopia, with 114.9 million persons.
How big is Africa compared to South America?
South America is the fourth-largest continent in the Western Hemisphere and most of the Southern hemisphere. It covers a total landmass of 17.8 million km² compared to Africa’s 30.37 million km².
The continent consists of 12 sovereign states as recognized by the United Nations. It has a total population of 434 million people.
Compared to Africa, South America is relatively smaller in size and population.
Brazil is the largest country in South America, with a total landmass of 8.6 million km² and 214.4 million people.
South America covers 3.5% of the earth’s surface compared to Africa’s 6% of the Earth’s total surface area.
How big is Africa compared to Europe?
Europe is the fifth largest continent. It is one-fifth of the world’s total landmass with a total area of 10.54 million km². It shares its large landmass with the westward peninsulas of Eurasia and some parts of Africa.
The continent comprises 44 countries, including Germany, Italy, France, and Spain. Its total population is 746.4 million.
Because of its proximity to the south pole, most European countries are bigger on the map than Africa. But the truth is that Africa is way bigger than all of Europe.
How big is Africa compared to North America?
North America is the third largest continent, with a landmass of 24.71 million km².
It extends from the tiny Aleutian Islands in the northwest to the enormous island of Greenland in the northeast to the isthmus of Panama in the south.
It comprises 23 countries, including the USA, Canada, Greenland, Mexico, and Panama. Africa’s landmass surpasses that of North America by over 6 million km².
However, Canada, the largest country in North America, has a landmass of 9.985 million km², far bigger than Algeria, the largest in Africa.
How big is Africa compared to Australia/Oceania?
Oceania is the sixth largest continent, with 8.526 million km² and a population of over 41 million.
It contains 14 countries, with Australia being the largest. Others include New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, etc. Interestingly, Australia has a landmass of 7.692 million km², making it the sixth largest country in the world.
Africa is almost four times as big as Oceania, and its population is way higher. But Australia is bigger than Algeria, the largest country in Africa.
FAQs
Is Africa a country?
No. Africa is not a country; it is a continent.
Which country is bigger than Africa?
There’s no country as large as Africa. Countries that look larger than Africa on the map are smaller in real life.
What is the largest country in the world?
Russia is the biggest country in the world, with a total area of 16.38 million km².
What is the largest continent in the world?
With a landmass of 44.58 million km², Asia is the world’s largest continent.
Conclusion
So how big is Africa compared to the USA? The answer is obvious. Africa is bigger than the USA, as explained in the article.
As you already know, what makes the USA, and several countries bigger than Africa is because of the distorted presentation on the map.
That said, learning about the continents is beneficial as it helps us to understand the world around us.
I hope this article helped. Read more exciting content like this on LMS Hero.
Thanks for reading.
