Russia is 71.2% larger than Canada (the two largest nations on Earth). Areas below are total areas from national statistics; the Mercator factor shows how much a standard web map inflates each one.
Russia is larger by 2,746,567 sq mi (7,113,576 km²).
Share of the two areas combined (true area, not map area)
| Metric | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇨🇦 Canada | Ratio / Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Area (Sq Miles) | 6,601,670 sq mi | 3,855,103 sq mi | 1.71x |
| Total Area (Sq Kilometers) | 17,098,246 km² | 9,984,670 km² | 1.71x |
| Population | 144,000,000 | 40,000,000 | 3.6x more |
| Population Density | 22 people / sq mi | 10 people / sq mi | Russia 2.1x denser |
| Capital or Seat | Moscow | Ottawa | - |
| Largest Metropolitan Area | Moscow | Toronto | - |
| Latitude Center | 60.0° | 60.0° | 0.0° lat diff |
| Mercator Area Inflation Factor | 4x | 4x | 1.00x visual distortion |
Both nations sit at high northern latitudes (~60°N), meaning both are equally exaggerated on Mercator maps.
Mercator projection formulas stretch surface area proportionally to sec²(φ) = 1 / cos²(φ), magnifying landmasses drastically near the north and south poles.
Russia and Canada are the world's two largest countries by total area. Russia covers 6.6 million sq mi (17.1M km²), while Canada covers 3.86 million sq mi (9.98M km²). Russia is 1.71 times larger than Canada.
Russia contains the world's largest forest reserves, known as the Taiga.
Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined and the longest coastline in the world (151,019 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.
Russia is the largest country in the world, 71% larger than second-place Canada.
Russia has about 144,000,000 people versus 40,000,000 in Canada, roughly 3.6 times as many. Per square mile, that is about 22 people in Russia and 10 in Canada.
By area, Canada (9,984,670 km²) fits into Russia (17,098,246 km²) about 1.71 times. Shapes differ, so this is an area ratio, not a literal tiling.
