How Big Is Australia? Visualizing How Many Countries Fit Inside

Australia ranks 54th by population, 14th by gross domestic product…and sixth by size?

The infographic below, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, puts its staggering scale in context by showing how many familiar nations could sit comfortably inside its outline.

The data for this visualization comes from UN Statistics Division, using total area estimates.

Australia’s True Size Revealed

Covering nearly 3.0 million square miles (7.73 million km²), Australia is the sixth-largest country, sitting just behind Brazil.

Note: Population data sourced from the International Monetary Fund.

Its landmass is roughly equivalent to the combined size of nine other countries, including 7th-ranked India.

For an American perspective, it’s the size of the contiguous U.S. west of the Mississippi River.

Humans often underestimate continental scale when viewing Mercator maps, so stacking countries gives a more intuitive sense of magnitude.

ℹ️ Related: For more on the Mercator projection, check out: The Problem With Our Maps.

Yet with only 27 million residents, Australia’s average population density is nine people per square mile.

The average population density of the combined nine countries is 687 people per square mile.

Why So Much of Australia Is Empty

The emptiness stems largely from the notorious Outback.

Roughly two-fifths of the continent is classified as arid or semi-arid desert, encompassing the Simpson, Tanami, and Great Victoria deserts.

Summer highs above 110°F (43°C) and some of the lowest rainfall on Earth make permanent settlement costly and risky.

Consequently, more than 85% of Australians cluster in coastal metro areas such as Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Visualizing Africa’s True Size on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.