Africa is 1.78 times larger than Russia. Russia is 56.3% the size of Africa. Areas below are total areas from national statistics; the Mercator factor shows how much a standard web map inflates each one.
Africa is larger by 5,124,130 sq mi (13,271,754 km²).
Share of the two areas combined (true area, not map area)
| Metric | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🌍 Africa | Ratio / Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Area (Sq Miles) | 6,601,670 sq mi | 11,725,800 sq mi | 0.56x |
| Total Area (Sq Kilometers) | 17,098,246 km² | 30,370,000 km² | 0.56x |
| Population | 144,000,000 | 1,400,000,000 | 9.7x less |
| Population Density | 22 people / sq mi | 119 people / sq mi | Africa 5.5x denser |
| Capital or Seat | Moscow | None (54 countries) | - |
| Largest Metropolitan Area | Moscow | Cairo / Lagos | - |
| Latitude Center | 60.0° | 0.0° | 60.0° lat diff |
| Mercator Area Inflation Factor | 4x | 1x | 4.00x visual distortion |
On Mercator maps, Russia appears significantly larger than Africa. In reality, Africa is nearly 1.8 times larger than Russia.
Mercator projection formulas stretch surface area proportionally to sec²(φ) = 1 / cos²(φ), magnifying landmasses drastically near the north and south poles.
Russia is the largest country on Earth by area (6.6 million sq mi), but Africa is a continent spanning 11.7 million sq mi. Africa is nearly 1.8 times larger than Russia, despite Mercator projections showing Russia dominating the top of the map.
Russia spans 11 time zones and borders 14 sovereign countries by land.
Africa is home to the Sahara Desert, the largest hot desert on Earth, spanning 3.5 million square miles.
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.
No. Africa is nearly 1.8 times larger than Russia. Africa covers 30.37 million km² while Russia covers 17.10 million km².
Africa has about 1,400,000,000 people versus 144,000,000 in Russia, roughly 9.7 times as many. Per square mile, that is about 22 people in Russia and 119 in Africa.
By area, Russia (17,098,246 km²) fits into Africa (30,370,000 km²) about 1.78 times. Shapes differ, so this is an area ratio, not a literal tiling.
