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True size comparison

Russia vs China: size comparison

Russia is 1.8 times the size of China.

  • Russia 17,098,240 km²
  • China 9,596,960 km²

Drag a country, see its true size

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    Drag the coloured shape anywhere on the map. It keeps its real size on the globe, so the map redraws it bigger near the poles and smaller near the equator.

    Why they look different on a map

    Russia is centred around 62°N and China around 37°N. At those latitudes the Mercator projection used by most world maps draws Russia 4.4 times and China 1.6 times larger than they would appear at the equator.

    So on a typical world map, Russia looks 5.1 times the size of China. In reality Russia is 1.8 times the size of China.

    Country True area Centred around Mercator enlargement
    Russia 17,098,240 km² 62°N ×4.4
    China 9,596,960 km² 37°N ×1.6

    The stretch is 1 divided by the cosine of the latitude, squared. At 60° north a country is drawn four times larger than the same country would be at the equator.

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    Russia vs China: questions

    Which is bigger, Russia or China?

    Russia is 1.8 times the size of China. Russia covers 17,098,240 km² and China covers 9,596,960 km².

    Why do Russia and China look a different size on world maps?

    Russia is centred around 62°N and China around 37°N. At those latitudes the Mercator projection used by most world maps draws Russia 4.4 times and China 1.6 times larger than they would appear at the equator. So on a typical world map, Russia looks 5.1 times the size of China.

    How many times does China fit into Russia?

    By area, China would fit into Russia about 1.8 times.