Greenland vs Iceland: two axes, two figures
Greenland measures 2,651 km (1,648 mi) north to south, and Iceland measures 512.2 km (318.3 mi) east to west. Greenland comes to 5.18 times the measured size of Iceland, a difference of 2,139 km (1,329 mi). The two are not judged on the same axis: Greenland is quoted as a north-south span and Iceland as an east-west span, so the honest statement is one figure against the other, 19% of it, and not one outline against another. Greenland is written in thousands of kilometres and Iceland in hundreds of kilometres, a whole band of scale apart.
| Object | Real size | Axis measured | What the figure covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenland | 2,651 km 1,648 mi |
North-south span | Widest extent of the outline on that axis |
| Iceland | 512.2 km 318.3 mi |
East-west span | Widest extent of the outline on that axis |
Both figures, Greenland and Iceland, 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
Greenland is drawn about 2.84 times as wide as Iceland as well as 5.18 times its measured size, so the area it takes in the frame grows faster than the figure anyone quotes. The outline of Greenland 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 Iceland above is scaled from measured distances instead. On the drawing above Greenland is about 1.82 times as tall as it is wide and Iceland about 1.45 times as wide as it is tall, so the two outlines fill the frame in ways that have nothing to do with the one axis being compared.
What each figure covers
Greenland. Greenland is measured north to south. It is the clearest single victim of map projections: on a standard world map it appears about the size of Africa, and it is nowhere close.
Iceland. Iceland is judged east to west. Almost the whole interior is uninhabited highland, so the span describes the island rather than where anyone lives on it.
Greenland is quoted as a north-south span and Iceland as an east-west 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, Greenland at 2,651 km sits within a quarter of New Zealand at 2,599 km, Japan at 2,310 km and India at 3,161 km. Iceland at 512.2 km has Hungary at 510.3 km, Azerbaijan at 498.2 km and Georgia at 551.2 km for company, within a tenth. Swapping any of those in for Greenland would move its ratio to Iceland by less than 25%.