Without further ado, here is the answer: the United States of America. Yes, Canada is a larger country as a whole, but when excluding water area and looking at land area alone, the US is actually a bigger country! Surprised?
I am writing this before seeing the results of our polls on our Facebook pages, but I am assuming Canada will maybe have received the most votes.
That’s because most people are surprised when I tell them that Canada is only larger than the US because of its substantial water area, even though pretty much everyone is aware that Canada is larger overall. That being said, even the difference in total area isn’t as huge as it seems. That’s mostly due to the fact that traditional maps grossly exaggerate Canada’s true size, as we’ve told you before (we’ll show you with maps below).
Overview of Canada’s land and water areas
But first of all, for those who don’t follow us and don’t know that we never make anything up (except on April Fool’s Day haha), here is the land area of Canada and the United States as per Wikipedia:
Every country’s total area is split into land area and water area, and that’s where you can see that Canada is behind the USA in land area, with 9,094,000 square kilometers to the USA’s 9,148,000 square kilometers.
It is only when the water area is added that Canada takes the lead.
To be fair, it’s not a huge difference… but the fact is, in terms of land area, yes, Canada truly is smaller than our southern neighbor contrary to popular belief.
It sure doesn’t look like it when you look at regular (distorted) maps that show Canada as a huge country that seems so much larger than the USA, and that’s why a lot of people are surprised by this stat.
But when using the True Size Tool, you can see that in reality, Canada’s territory is quite similar to the contiguous part of the US (the lower 48 States).
And when adding Alaska to the USA’s land size and removing Canada’s vast water areas, the US actually has a bit more land.
If it’s any consolation, at least Canada is #1 in the entire world in terms of water area.
Measuring water areas
Canada has about 891,163 square kilometers of water, which is a lot more than the USA’s 685,924 square kilometers. This difference of over 200,000 square kilometers helps explain why Canada is bigger overall, even though it has less land.
Comparing the biggest lakes
To better understand how Canada’s water bodies add to its overall size, let’s look at the biggest lakes in both countries:
Canada’s biggest lakes (not counting the Great Lakes):
- Great Bear Lake: 31,328 square kilometers
- Great Slave Lake: 28,568 square kilometers
- Lake Winnipeg: 24,514 square kilometers
- Lake Athabasca: 7,850 square kilometers
- Reindeer Lake: 6,650 square kilometers
United States’ biggest lakes (not counting the Great Lakes):
- Lake Iliamna (Alaska): 2,622 square kilometers (344,080 sq mi)
- Lake Okeechobee (Florida): 1,892 square kilometers (344,080 sq mi)
- Lake Pontchartrain (Louisiana): 1,632 square kilometers (344,080 sq mi)
- Becharof Lake (Alaska): 1,186 square kilometers (344,080 sq mi)
- Red Lake (Minnesota): 1,106 square kilometers (344,080 sq mi)
As we can see, Canada’s biggest lakes are much larger than those in the U.S. Great Bear Lake, Canada’s largest, is almost 12 times bigger than Lake Iliamna, the largest lake fully within US borders (excluding the Great Lakes).
The Great Lakes Factor
It’s important to note that the Great Lakes, which both countries share, aren’t in the lists above. Here’s how they’re split:
- Lake Superior: Total area 82,100 square kilometers (Canada: 28,700 km², US: 53,400 km²)
- Lake Huron: Total area 59,600 square kilometers (Canada: 36,000 km², US: 23,600 km²)
- Lake Michigan: Total area 57,800 square kilometers (all in the US)
- Lake Erie: Total area 25,700 square kilometers (Canada: 12,800 km², US: 12,900 km²)
- Lake Ontario: Total area 18,960 square kilometers (Canada: 10,000 km², US: 8,960 km²)
As we can see, for the Great Lakes, the U.S. has a larger share on their territory, with approximately 156 square kilometers of water, while Canada holds around 87 square kilometers. However, it is not enough to overtake Canada in terms of total water area.
How water changes total area
Canada’s bigger water area makes up for its smaller land area, resulting in a larger total size. This shows why it’s important to think about both land and water when comparing countries.
To help picture this, Canada’s water area alone (891,163 square kilometers) is bigger than countries like France (643,801 square kilometers) and Ukraine (603,550 square kilometers).
Land vs. Water
Looking at how much of each country is land or water tells us more:
- Canada: 8.9% water and 91.1% land
- United States: 7.0% water and 93.0% land
While this difference might seem small, it matters a lot because we’re talking about such vast areas. Canada’s higher percentage of water adds a lot to its overall size.
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Summary
So yes, we Canadians can proudly say that our country is larger than the US… but only thanks to our substantial water area. In terms of actual land area, our southern neighbors win.
Did you know that the US had more land area than Canada? Tell us in the comments below.
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hi, i saw this same article on (URL REMOVED) but it had another author. Did you copy this article from someone else or do you write under a pseudonym ?
No, we don’t write anywhere else and this is our own original content. I see they copied our content, thanks for letting us know, we’ll get them to remove it.
‘Contiguous’ i.e. uninterrupted land.
square kilometres
Russia 16,326,870
China 9.388,211
Australia 7,682,300
U.S.A. 7,663,941
Canada 7,487,393
The true of the matter is that both countries are equal in size. Since in a way both are larger than the other.
well, usa is really the biggest county in the world. Through, its military bases the USA, controls most of the world.
Andrew enlighten me if their are any inaccuracy in my mental state of being pertaining to this however i ma fairly certain that it is viewed in such a manner world wide, scratch that is how its globally view, it must be. which is why Canada is the second largest county in the world ” hands down”.
Yes, Canada is the second-largest as I say in the article. The fact is, everyone is always surprised when I tell them that when considering only land, the US is bigger. That’s it, that’s the post 🙂
I’m assuming your American and being second to Canada just doesn’t sit well jo matter what the facts are. So, as long as us is always first, let the rest of the world deal in facts.
Thanks for your opinion Andrew.
I’m assuming you are very insecure. I’m 100% Canadian. It’s not an opinion. In terms of land area, the US is larger than Canada. You can Google it youself, it’s not rocket science :p
They should just compare boundaries including waters each country has recognized legal control over. So Canada is bigger hands down.
I’m from Canada lol