How big is Africa?
Africa covers about 20 percent of the land on Earth. The 54 countries in Perspective Map add up to 30,030,427 km²; the whole continent with its islands and territories is about 30.4 million km². Around 1.55 billion people lived there in 2025, according to the UN, which is roughly one person in five worldwide.
The largest countries on the continent are big in their own right. Algeria alone is larger than Greenland, and DR Congo is larger than Saudi Arabia.
| Country | Total area | Share of Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 2,381,741 km² | 7.9% |
| DR Congo | 2,344,858 km² | 7.8% |
| Sudan | 1,861,484 km² | 6.2% |
| Libya | 1,759,540 km² | 5.9% |
| Chad | 1,284,000 km² | 4.3% |
| Niger | 1,267,000 km² | 4.2% |
| Angola | 1,246,700 km² | 4.2% |
| Mali | 1,240,192 km² | 4.1% |
| South Africa | 1,221,037 km² | 4.1% |
| Ethiopia | 1,104,300 km² | 3.7% |
Africa vs Canada
Canada is 9,984,670 km², the second-largest country on Earth. Africa is 3.0 times bigger. Put another way, you could fit Canada into Africa three times and still have 0.1 million km² left, about the size of Egypt or Nigeria.
This is a useful pair to compare because both look big on Google Maps, for different reasons. Canada looks big because it is big and because Mercator inflates it, by roughly two to four times depending on the latitude. Africa looks smaller than it is because the equator runs through it and Mercator leaves the equator alone.
In Perspective Map you can drop Canada into Africa as a guest and see where it would rank. It would be the largest country on the continent, by a factor of four over Algeria.
What fits inside Africa?
The United States, China, India and Japan add up to 23.1 million km². Add France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Italy, the United Kingdom and Portugal and the total is 25.5 million km². That still leaves 4.6 million km² of Africa empty, more than the whole of India.
Why does Africa look small on maps?
Because the common world map, the Mercator projection, is honest at the equator and dishonest near the poles. It multiplies area by 1 at the equator, by 2 at 45° and by 4 at 60° north or south. Africa stretches from 37° north to 35° south, so it is drawn at roughly 1.0 to 1.3 times its true area. Europe, Russia, Canada and Greenland are drawn at 2 to 10 times theirs.
Put those next to each other and Africa shrinks by comparison, even though nothing about Africa changed. The full explanation is here, with a chart of how much each latitude is stretched.
See it for yourself
Perspective Map draws every country as a box whose area matches the real figure. Choose Africa in the Show menu to see the 54 countries alone, switch to population or GDP to see the continent from a different angle, or open the Atlas view to see the boxes on an equal-area map next to the Google map version.
Questions people ask
How big is Africa in square kilometres?
The 54 countries of Africa add up to 30,030,427 km² in Perspective Map's data. The whole continent, counting islands and territories such as Western Sahara and Réunion, is about 30.4 million km².
Is Africa bigger than Russia?
Yes. Russia is 17,098,246 km², the largest country on Earth, and Africa is still 1.8 times bigger than Russia.
Is Africa bigger than North America?
Yes. The 18 countries of North America in the map, from Canada to Panama and the Caribbean, add up to 22,522,258 km². Add Greenland and North America reaches about 24.7 million km², still smaller than Africa.
Is Africa bigger than Greenland?
Africa is about 14 times bigger. Greenland is 2,166,086 km². They only look similar on Mercator maps.
How many countries are in Africa?
54 United Nations member states. Perspective Map shows all 54. Western Sahara is not included because its status is disputed.
Which is the largest country in Africa?
Algeria, at 2,381,741 km². DR Congo is second at 2,344,858 km² and Sudan third at 1,861,484 km².