Canada vs Caspian Sea: two axes, two figures
Canada measures 5,395 km (3,353 mi) east to west, and the Caspian Sea measures 1,166 km (724.6 mi) north to south. Canada comes to 4.63 times the measured size of the Caspian Sea, a difference of 4,229 km (2,628 mi). The two are not judged on the same axis: Canada is quoted as an east-west span and the Caspian Sea as a north-south span, so the honest statement is one figure against the other, 22% of it, and not one outline against another. Canada and the Caspian Sea are both written in thousands of kilometres, so the 4.63-to-one gap has to be read off the digits rather than off the unit.
| 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 |
| Caspian Sea | 1,166 km 724.6 mi |
North-south span | largest lake on Earth |
Both figures, Canada and Caspian Sea, 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
Canada is drawn about 8.81 times as wide as the Caspian Sea as well as 4.63 times its measured size, so the area it takes in the frame grows faster than the figure anyone quotes. 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 the Caspian Sea above is scaled from measured distances instead. On the drawing above Canada is about 1.19 times as wide as it is tall and the Caspian Sea about 1.90 times as tall as it is wide, so the two outlines fill the frame in ways that have nothing to do with the one axis being compared.
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.
Caspian Sea. The Caspian is the largest lake on Earth by surface area, measured here north to south. Whether it counts as a lake or a sea is a legal argument rather than a geographical one.
Canada is quoted as an east-west span and the Caspian Sea as a north-south span: two conventions, so the ratio compares the two numbers rather than the two objects.
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. Caspian Sea at 1,166 km has United Kingdom at 1,220 km, Cameroon at 1,269 km and California at 1,061 km for company, within a tenth. Swapping any of those in for Canada would move its ratio to the Caspian Sea by less than 10%.