Canada is 1.5% larger than the United States by total area. Areas below are total areas from national statistics; the Mercator factor shows how much a standard web map inflates each one.
Canada is larger by 58,361 sq mi (151,153 km²).
Share of the two areas combined (true area, not map area)
| Metric | 🇨🇦 Canada | 🇺🇸 United States | Ratio / Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Area (Sq Miles) | 3,855,103 sq mi | 3,796,742 sq mi | 1.02x |
| Total Area (Sq Kilometers) | 9,984,670 km² | 9,833,517 km² | 1.02x |
| Population | 40,000,000 | 331,449,281 | 8.3x less |
| Population Density | 10 people / sq mi | 87 people / sq mi | USA 8.4x denser |
| Capital or Seat | Ottawa | Washington, D.C. | - |
| Largest Metropolitan Area | Toronto | New York City | - |
| Latitude Center | 60.0° | 38.0° | 22.0° lat diff |
| Mercator Area Inflation Factor | 4x | 1.61x | 2.48x visual distortion |
Canada appears vastly larger on standard flat maps because its northern archipelago extends towards 80°N. In reality, Canada is only 1.5% larger than the US in total area, and if you compare land area alone excluding inland water, the US is actually slightly larger.
Mercator projection formulas stretch surface area proportionally to sec²(φ) = 1 / cos²(φ), magnifying landmasses drastically near the north and south poles.
Canada and the United States are almost identical in total area. Canada spans 3,855,103 square miles compared to the US's 3,796,742 square miles. Canada is just 1.5% larger by total area.
Canada and the US share the longest undefended international land border in the world at 5,525 miles (8,891 km).
The US has roughly 8.3 times the population of Canada despite their similar land areas.
Mercator factors use the center latitude only (area scale = 1 / cos² of latitude), so they are approximations for places that span many degrees of latitude.
Use published areas from national statistics offices or census gazetteers rather than judging by pixels on a flat web map.
Remember that Web Mercator tiles distort areas by 1/cos²(latitude). High-latitude regions appear vastly larger than equatorial states.
Drag one outline over the other in the true size tool; the shape is re-projected as it moves, so it keeps its real size.
By total area (land + inland water), Canada is 1.5% larger. However, by land area alone, the United States is slightly larger because 8.9% of Canada is inland freshwater.
United States has about 331,449,281 people versus 40,000,000 in Canada, roughly 8.3 times as many. Per square mile, that is about 10 people in Canada and 87 in United States.
