How big is Africa? The continent covers approximately 30.3 million square kilometres, making it the second-largest continent on Earth. However, many world maps make Africa appear much smaller than it really is.
In fact, Africa is so large that the United States, China, India and much of Europe could fit inside it.
How big is Africa compared to other countries?
Africa’s geographical size is often underestimated. To understand its scale, consider these comparisons:
- Africa: 30.3 million square kilometres
- United States: 9.8 million square kilometres
- China: 9.6 million square kilometres
- India: 3.3 million square kilometres
- Europe: 10.2 million square kilometres
Together, the United States, China and India cover approximately 22.7 million square kilometres. That leaves enough space for a substantial part of Europe.
These figures show just how enormous Africa really is.
Why does Africa look smaller on world maps?
The answer lies in the Mercator projection, a map design developed in the 16th century.
This projection makes regions closer to the North and South Poles appear larger than their actual size.
As a result, Greenland and parts of Europe look unusually large. Meanwhile, Africa appears smaller in comparison.
For example, Africa is approximately 14 times larger than Greenland. Yet on some maps, the two landmasses appear similar in size.
How big is Africa geographically?
Africa stretches across the Equator and covers both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Moreover, the continent contains 54 internationally recognised countries.
Its landscapes include the Sahara Desert, the Congo rainforest, vast savannas and major mountain ranges.
Africa also contains the Nile, one of the world’s longest rivers.
These geographical features demonstrate the continent’s extraordinary scale and diversity.
Africa’s true size may surprise you
Africa covers about one-fifth of Earth’s land area. Nevertheless, its size is frequently misunderstood because of familiar world map designs.
Fortunately, equal-area map projections offer a more accurate comparison of continents.
The next time you look at a world map, remember that Africa is much larger than it appears.