# How big is Greenland?

Greenland covers about 836,000 square miles (2.17 million km²), making it the largest island in the world. On a standard web map it looks about the size of Africa, but Africa is about 14 times bigger.

- 836,330 square miles
- 2.17 million km²
- 535 million acres
- 405 million football fields

Interactive map, to drop it on any town at its true size: https://how-big-is.com/greenland/

## Why it looks so big

Most web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches shapes more the closer they are to the poles. Greenland sits so far north that it is drawn several times too large. Switch the map to flat view, then drag Greenland toward the equator and watch it shrink.

## Mostly ice

About 80% of Greenland is covered by an ice sheet.

## How it compares

- 3,096× the size of [the Little Giant Fire](https://how-big-is.com/little-giant-fire/)
- 535 million [acres](https://how-big-is.com/an-acre/)
- 405 million [American football fields](https://how-big-is.com/a-football-field/)
- 303 million [soccer pitches](https://how-big-is.com/a-soccer-field/)
- 634,937× the size of [Central Park](https://how-big-is.com/central-park/)
- 4.41 million× the size of [Vatican City](https://how-big-is.com/vatican-city/)
- 241× the size of [Yellowstone National Park](https://how-big-is.com/yellowstone-national-park/)
- 4,379× the size of [Lake Tahoe](https://how-big-is.com/lake-tahoe/)

## Questions people ask

**Is Greenland bigger than Africa?**
No. Africa is about 14 times bigger.

**How big is Greenland compared to the US?**
A little under a quarter of the size of the United States.

**How big is Greenland compared to Texas?**
About three times the size of Texas.

## Where the numbers come from

Official figure: about 836,330 square miles. Outline: Natural Earth (https://www.naturalearthdata.com/about/terms-of-use/), licence: Public domain.

Credit: Map: how-big-is.com. Outline: Natural Earth.