How much wider is Canada than Australia?
Canada measures 5,395 km (3,353 mi) east to west, and Australia measures 4,036 km (2,508 mi) east to west. That puts Canada at 1.34 times the east-west span of Australia: 1,360 km (844.9 mi) of difference, 34%. Put the other way round, Australia covers 75% of Canada on the axis both are judged on. Canada and Australia are both written in thousands of kilometres, and the 34% between them is the whole of the difference.
| Object | Real size | Axis measured | What the figure covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 5,395 km 3,353 mi |
East-west span | Widest extent of the outline on that axis |
| Australia | 4,036 km 2,508 mi |
East-west span | Country |
Both figures, Canada and Australia, come from the Size It Up measurement set, one real-world size and one measured axis per object, last checked in September 2026; outline provenance is listed on the sources page.
Why this one is hard to judge by eye
The outline of Canada that most people carry comes from a world map, and every projection that keeps angles true stretches whatever sits far from the equator; the outline of Australia above is scaled from measured distances instead.
What each figure covers
Canada. Canada is measured east to west, across a span that crosses six time zones. The northern islands are included, which is a large part of why the figure is so big.
Australia. Australia is measured east to west across the mainland outline. On most world maps it looks smaller than Greenland, which is an artefact of the projection rather than a fact about either.
Canada and Australia are both quoted as an east-west span, which is what makes the ratio above a like-for-like figure.
What else is about that size?
Measured the same way, Canada at 5,395 km sits within a tenth of Indonesia at 5,049 km and Mercury at 4,879 km. Australia at 4,036 km has Brazil at 4,308 km and Alaska at 3,636 km for company, within a tenth. Swapping any of those in for Canada would move its ratio to Australia by less than 10%.