In America, we tend to assume that we are the biggest country in the world, however, if you have been online enough, you will probably have heard that this is, in fact, not true.
Most of us in America, tend to believe we are the biggest nation, however, geography would tell you otherwise, wherein the biggest country is actually Russia.
However, how much of this is true? A map can only be so accurate.
There is an issue with maps. The earth is not flat, while this is a good thing, it does mean that the map of the world is somewhat distorted.
The typical map we look at is called the Mercator Projection. It imagines the earth as the surface of a cylinder, and when laid out it is rectangular, and you can line up the east and west which is useful for sailing
However, because of latitude and longitude, the closer a country is to the poles the more distorted it becomes.
For example Africa is 30.4mkm2 and Greenland is 2.2mkm2 but on a map they look the same size.
There is a map that shows you the true size of countries, but for now let’s focus on the true size of Japan and how it relates to the United States.
The Math
So, happy times would Japan fit into the U.S.? Well, Japan is around 377,915 square kilometers, but the United States is about 9,833,517 square kilometers.
This makes the United States a good 2,502% bigger than Japan.
Population reflects this also, but we will talk about this more later.
Japan Vs U.S. Facts
Let’s compare these two countries overall to get a better idea of their lands and comparisons in size.
Japan
U.S.
Size
Slightly smaller than California is. Although it looks bigger, the land mass is smaller.
The U.S. is about half the size of Russia, 3/10th’s the size of Africa and ½ of South America/ a bit bigger than Brazil. And over 2 x the size of the EU.
Total Land Measurement
364,744 square km
9.16 million square km
Size Per Capita
2.94 square km per 1,000 people
30.16 square km per 1,000 people
Total Size
377,915 square km
9.83 million square km
Rainfall per year (mm)
1,668 mm per year
715 mm per year
Climate
Tropical in the South but cool in the North.
Temperate, but tropical in Florida and Hawaii, Arctic in Alaska, Arid in the Great Plains and the Great Basin. Low winter temperatures in the North West winters.
Well, Florida is around 139,670 square kilometers, but Japan is about 377,915 square kilometers, which makes Japan a good 171% larger than Florida is.
Florida has a population of 18.7 million people, but Japan has 106.7 million more than this.
Japan Vs The State Of Texas
Texas is notoriously one of the biggest states in the U.S. so how does Japan size up against this state?
Well, with Japan’s size being at around 377,915 square kilometers and Texas being a good 678,052 square kilometers, Texas is definitely bigger.
Texas is actually about 79% larger than Japan is.
Now, the shocking thing here is that Japan’s population is 125.5 million, but despite how Japan is smaller than Texas, Japan’s population is larger, as Texas has 100.4 million fewer people than Japan does.
This does say one thing about The United States of America – there is space!
Size Vs Population
Population Is Difficult to state as people are always giving birth and dying. However, we can average it.
In the U.S. the anticipated population is around 332,639,104, while in Japan the population is estimated to be 125,507,472.
Considering that you could fit Japan into the United States 26 times, Japan has a very high population density.
Japan Vs Other Countries
Japan has a land size of 374,744 square kilometers. Let’s compare this to some other countries. We already know that Japan could fit into the U.S. 26 times.
Japan: 374,744 square kilometers
United States: 9.16 million square kilometers
United Kingdom: 214,590 square kilometers
Canada: 9.09 million square kilometers
Mexico:1.92 million square kilometers
Russia:17,000,000 square kilometers
Australia: 7.2 million square kilometers
Greenland: 2.17 million square kilometers
China: 9.33 million square kilometers
What does this mean?
Well,
It means that out of all these lands, only the United Kingdom is smaller in comparison to Japan.
However, Japan could fit inside the U.S. 26 times, Canada 16 times, Mexico 5 times, Russia 45 times, Australia 20 times, Greenland 6 times, and China 25 times.
Japan is a country big on culture, and with a very big significance on our world outside of it, but in terms of size, it is actually rather small in comparison to other countries.
To Conclude
Japan could fit into the United States 26 times. However, it is actually rather surprising that even though Japan’s size is much smaller than that of the United States, their population density is actually significantly greater than in the U.S.
In fact, Japan is one of the smallest countries that we consider to have the most widespread influence over the rest of the world, next to the United Kingdom.
That being said, size is not everything and Japan has a lot of influence, being the nation who brought in many wonderful foods to become commonplace, advanced animation, and a great deal of commerce.
Hi, I’m Jason Patrick, and for as long as I have been alive, I have been obsessed with Japanese culture. From the sights and sounds of Japan’s many cities to its culinary delights that have become famous worldwide, I simply cannot get enough of this wonderful nation!
I hope that, by exploring this website, you all will develop a much deeper appreciation for Japan, and that it may even influence you to pay it a visit yourself eventually! It is definitely a trip of a lifetime, and whether you experience it firsthand, or through my own website, I’m sure you will become just as passionate as I always have been!
