How Big Is the EU Compared to the USA?

The European Union covers about 4.2 million km², about half the area of the 48 contiguous US states (about 8.1 million km²) and less than half of the whole United States with Alaska and Hawaii (about 9.83 million km²). The contiguous USA alone is about 1.9 times larger than the EU. The EU, however, has about 450 million people, compared with about 340 million in the USA.

The 27 EU member states, moved as one block, beside the 48 contiguous US states on the equator.

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The numbers

Region	Area (about)	Population (about)
European Union (27 members)	4.2 million km²	450 million
United States, with Alaska and Hawaii	9.83 million km²	340 million
48 contiguous US states	8.1 million km²	338 million
India	3.3 million km²	1.4 billion
Europe (the continent)	10.2 million km²	740 million

The EU is larger than India by area, but smaller than the continent of Europe, because countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are not members. Areas are well-known published figures; population values are rounded and change every year.

Why normal maps get this wrong

The EU lies between about 35°N and 70°N, farther from the equator than most of the USA, so a Mercator map stretches it more. Sweden and Finland, in particular, look much bigger than they are. The contiguous USA lies roughly between 25°N and 49°N, so it is stretched less. On a standard map the two therefore look closer in size than they really are. Moving the EU to the equator beside the USA at true size reduces the Nordic countries to their real footprint.

The EU's members are also spread over mainland Europe, large islands such as Ireland and Cyprus, and distant regions such as French Guiana and the Canary Islands. The app loads the EU as a union of its member countries, so you can pull members apart as well.

Try it yourself

1. Type "European Union" in the search box ("Search for a country or region…"). Choosing a union loads all its member countries together.
2. Search for "Contiguous 48" (the 48 contiguous US states) and add it.
3. Drag both to the equator, side by side. Open Tools → Stats to see the combined area and population.

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More comparisons

• Sahara vs the USA
• How big is Africa?
• Soviet Union vs USA
• Tutorial: unions such as the EU, NATO and BRICS

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