Think: roughly the size of China or Europe. About 40× the size of the UK.
Japan
378,000 km²
Similar to Germany or California. About 26× smaller than the USA.
France
551,000 km²
The largest country in the EU. About 1.5× the size of Japan.
Country area comparison (relative scale)
Russia (17.1M km²)
largest country
USA (9.8M km²)
57% of Russia
China (9.6M km²)
56%
Brazil (8.5M km²)
50%
Europe total (~10.5M km²)
slightly > USA
France (551k km²)
3%
Japan (378k km²)
2%
UK (244k km²)
1%
All seven continents by area
Asia (44.6M km²)
largest — 30% of Earth's land
Africa (30.4M km²)
often underestimated on maps
North America (24.7M km²)
55%
South America (17.8M km²)
40%
Antarctica (14.2M km²)
bigger than Europe
Europe (10.5M km²)
≈ USA
Australia (7.7M km²)
smallest
Africa is far larger than it looks on most world maps — the Mercator projection inflates Northern latitudes. Africa could fit the USA, China, India, and most of Europe inside it simultaneously.
Which country is bigger?
Score:
—
—
Part B · the seven continents
Continent by continent — the key numbers
Continent
Area
Population
Countries
Density
Highest point
Asia
44.6M km²
4.8 billion
49
108 /km²
Everest 8,849 m
Africa
30.4M km²
1.5 billion
54
50 /km²
Kilimanjaro 5,895 m
North America
24.7M km²
600 million
23
24 /km²
Denali 6,190 m
South America
17.8M km²
440 million
12
25 /km²
Aconcagua 6,961 m
Antarctica
14.2M km²
~5,000 ¹
0
<1 /km²
Vinson 4,892 m
Europe
10.5M km²
750 million
44
73 /km²
Mont Blanc 4,808 m ²
Australia / Oceania
8.5M km²
45 million
14
5 /km²
Puncak Jaya 4,884 m ³
¹ Researchers only, no permanent population. ² Some geographers cite Elbrus (5,642 m, Russia) as Europe's highest; Mont Blanc is the consensus for Western Europe. ³ Puncak Jaya is in Indonesian New Guinea, highest peak in Oceania. Australia's highest point is Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m).
The mismatch: area vs. people
The two bars below show that land area and population tell very different stories about continents.
% of world land area
Asia
30%
Africa
20%
North America
16.5%
South America
12%
Antarctica
9.5%
Europe
7%
Oceania
5.7%
% of world population
Asia
59% — nearly 3 in 5 humans
Africa
18%
Europe
9%
North America
7.5%
South America
5.5%
Oceania
0.6%
Antarctica
≈0
Europe is 7% of the land but holds 9% of people. Africa is 20% of the land and 18% of people — but Africa's population is growing fastest, and is projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050. Asia holds 30% of the land and 59% of people.
Things worth knowing about each continent
Asia
Home to the 10 most populous countries in the world (by combined weight). Contains both the highest point on Earth (Everest) and the lowest dry land (Dead Sea, −430 m). China and India together account for ~35% of all humans.
Africa
The most underestimated continent on maps. Has the most countries (54) of any continent and the youngest average population (median age ~19). The Sahara alone is roughly the size of the USA.
N. America
The USA and Canada together make up 79% of the continent's land. The Mississippi–Missouri river system is the 4th longest river system in the world. Central America and the Caribbean add 23 more nations.
S. America
Brazil alone is 47% of the continent. The Amazon basin holds roughly 10% of all species on Earth. The Andes, running 7,000 km along the western coast, are the longest mountain range on land.
Europe
The most densely networked continent — 44 countries in the same area as the USA. The Russian Federation spans both Europe and Asia; it is sometimes treated as its own entity. The EU's 27 members share a single market of 450 million people.
Oceania
Australia is technically a continent and a country simultaneously. Papua New Guinea (on the same island as Indonesian New Guinea) is one of the world's most linguistically diverse places — over 800 languages spoken.
Antarctica
No indigenous population, no government, governed by the Antarctic Treaty (1959) signed by 56 nations. 98% is covered by ice averaging 1.9 km thick. If it melted entirely, sea levels would rise ~58 m worldwide.
Part C · distances between cities
Key European distances (straight line)
Paris → Rome
~1,100 km
Paris → Berlin
~1,050 km
London → Madrid
~1,260 km
Moscow → London
~2,500 km
Paris → Istanbul
~2,200 km
World distances for scale
New York → LA
~3,940 km
London → New York
~5,540 km
Europe → Japan
~9,500 km
Earth circumference
~40,000 km
The travel-time anchor
A commercial plane flies ~900 km/h. So: 1,000 km ≈ 1 hour of flying — but this is a rough rule. Shorter flights spend proportionally more time climbing and descending, and headwinds add time. Paris→Rome (~1,100 km) takes about 2 hours; London→New York (~5,540 km) is 7–8 hours westbound. The rule works best above 3,000 km.
Flight time estimator
From
To
Select two cities above to estimate the flight.
Distance in perspective: the same scale
Each bar shows a route's distance as a fraction of Earth's full circumference (40,075 km = 100%).
Route
Fraction of Earth's circumference
km · flight
Paris → Berlin
2.6% of circumference
1,050 km
~1.5 h
London → Madrid
3.1% of circumference
1,260 km
~2 h
Moscow → London
6.2% of circumference
2,500 km
~3.5 h
New York → LA
9.8% of circumference
3,940 km
~5 h
London → New York
13.8% of circumference
5,540 km
~7–8 h
Europe → Japan
23.7% of circumference — less than ¼ of the way around
9,500 km
~11 h
Earth circumference
100% — full lap around the planet
40,075 km
~44 h nonstop
The key insight: even the longest common long-haul route (Europe→Japan) covers less than a quarter of the planet's circumference.
Part D · landmark heights
How tall is it? Two scales
Panel A zooms into buildings (0–1,000 m). Panel B shows the full picture to cruising altitude (0–10,000 m). Same vertical proportions within each panel.
Everest is 88% of cruising altitude. K2 is only 238 m shorter than Everest.
Eiffel Tower
330 m
Including antenna. Original 1889 height: 300 m. About 110 storeys tall.
Mount Everest
8,849 m
That's 8.8 km straight up. About 27 Eiffel Towers stacked. Nearly as tall as planes cruise.
Plane cruising altitude
~10,000 m
10 km up. Everest reaches 88% of that height — almost into plane territory.
Height estimator: floors ↔ metres
floors
→
Enter a floor count above
Part E · oceans & water
Ocean surface areas
Pacific (165M km²)
largest — bigger than all land combined
Atlantic (106M km²)
64% of Pacific
Indian (70M km²)
42%
Southern (21M km²)
13%
Arctic (15M km²)
9%
The Pacific Ocean alone is larger than all of Earth's land surface combined (~150M km²). Water covers 71% of the planet.
Depths: how deep do the oceans go?
The Mariana Trench (10,935 m) is deeper than Everest is tall. If you dropped Everest into it, there'd still be over 2 km of water above the summit.
Part F · population density
Population density: people per km²
Each dot below represents 5 people per km². The contrast shows why some countries feel crowded and others feel empty.
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated large countries on Earth — roughly 40× denser than the USA, and 130× denser than Australia.
Bangladesh
1,325 /km²
147M people in 148,000 km² — smaller than Greece. One of the most densely populated countries on Earth.
Netherlands
518 /km²
Europe's most densely populated country. 17.9M people in 41,500 km² — smaller than Switzerland.
Mongolia
2.1 /km²
One of the least dense countries. 3.4M people in 1.56M km² — the 18th largest country with a population smaller than Los Angeles.
Part G · latitude & what it tells you
What latitude tells you about a place
0°
The Equator — hot and humid year-round, maximum solar intensity. Countries: Ecuador, Kenya, Indonesia, Brazil (north), Singapore (1.3°N).
23°
Tropics (Cancer / Capricorn) — subtropical, often desert or savanna. Sahara Desert, Arabian Peninsula, Sonoran Desert. Mexico City is at 19°N.
35°
Mediterranean climate band — warm, dry summers; mild wet winters. Tokyo (35.7°N), Los Angeles (34°N), Beirut, Athens. The "pleasant" latitudes.
48–52°
Central Europe / Canada band — four proper seasons, cold winters. Paris (48.9°N), London (51.5°N), Berlin (52.5°N), Vancouver (49.3°N).
60°
Sub-Arctic — long cold winters, very long summer days. Helsinki, Oslo, St Petersburg. In summer, the sun barely sets (white nights).
66.5°
Arctic Circle — at least one full day of midnight sun per year, and one polar night. Reykjavik (64°N) is just south. Tromsø (69.7°N) is inside.
90°
The Poles — 6 months of daylight, 6 months of darkness. South Pole has the Amundsen–Scott research station; North Pole is open Arctic Ocean under ice.
Famous cities by latitude — some surprises
Surprise: Tokyo and Los Angeles are at nearly the same latitude (35°N). London is further north than most of Canada's major cities — it sits at the same latitude as central Newfoundland. New York is further south than Madrid.
Part H · anchor numbers to memorize
1 km
A 10–12 minute walk at normal pace
or ~1 minute by car at city speed
~500 km
A short domestic flight, or a full day's drive
Paris → Amsterdam, London → Edinburgh
~1,000 km
≈ 1–2 hours by plane (short-haul). Paris → Rome, Paris → Berlin.
~10,000 km
Europe to Japan, or Europe to West Coast USA
~11–12 hour flight
40,000 km
Circumference of the Earth
A non-stop round-the-world trip at plane speed = ~44 hours
330 m
Eiffel Tower height
1 floor ≈ 3 m, so it equals ~110 floors
828 m
Burj Khalifa — tallest building
About 2.5× the Eiffel Tower, ~276 floors equivalent
165M km²
Pacific Ocean — larger than all land on Earth
Earth's surface: 71% water, 29% land
Part I · test yourself
1. Someone says the flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles is about 9 hours. Does that make sense?
Yes, broadly — Tokyo to LA is ~8,800 km. At ~900 km/h that's about 9.8 hours of air time. Real flights are typically 10–11 hours westbound (headwinds) and 9–10 hours eastbound. So "about 9 hours" is a slight underestimate but in the right ballpark.
2. How many times bigger is the USA than Japan?
About 26 times bigger. USA = 9.8M km², Japan = 378,000 km². 9,800,000 ÷ 378,000 ≈ 26. Japan would fit inside the USA 26 times over — and yet Japan's population (~124M) is about 36% of the USA's (~340M), packed into a tiny area.
3. A building has 50 floors. Roughly how tall is it in metres?
About 150 m. One floor ≈ 3 m. 50 × 3 = 150 m. For context, the Eiffel Tower (330 m) is about the height of a 110-floor building. Most city skyscrapers you see are in the 150–400 m range.
4. Paris to Rome by road is about 1,400 km. At 120 km/h on a motorway, how long would the drive take?
About 11–12 hours of pure driving (1,400 ÷ 120 ≈ 11.7 hours). In reality, with stops, borders, and traffic it'd be closer to 14–15 hours. That's why most people fly — the same journey takes just over 2 hours by air.
5. Is Europe larger or smaller than the USA in area?
Slightly larger — and this surprises most people. Europe (all countries combined) is about 10.5M km². The USA is 9.8M km². Europe is about 7% bigger. But Europe has ~750 million people vs the USA's ~340 million — more than twice as many people packed into slightly the same space, spread across 44 countries.
6. The Pacific Ocean is larger than all land on Earth combined — true or false?
True. The Pacific covers ~165 million km². All of Earth's land surface adds up to about 150 million km². The Pacific alone is 10% larger than all continents and islands combined. This is why early explorers crossing it could go weeks without sighting land.
7. Name a major world city at roughly the same latitude as London (51.5°N).
Warsaw (52.2°N), Berlin (52.5°N), Amsterdam (52.4°N), and Brussels (50.9°N) are all close. Calgary in Canada is at 51°N. The surprise: most of Canada's major cities (Toronto at 43.7°N, Vancouver at 49.3°N) are actually south of London. London's mild climate despite its northerly latitude is thanks to the Gulf Stream warming the North Atlantic.