How close are Texas and the United Kingdom in size?
Texas measures 1,245 km (773.5 mi) east to west, and the United Kingdom measures 1,220 km (758.4 mi) north to south. Texas leads by 24.3 km (15.1 mi), 2%, which is too little to see until the two share a ground line. The two are not judged on the same axis: Texas is quoted as an east-west span and the United Kingdom as a north-south span, so the honest statement is one figure against the other, 98% of it, and not one outline against another. Texas and the United Kingdom are both written in thousands of kilometres, and the 2% between them is the whole of the difference.
| Object | Real size | Axis measured | What the figure covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 1,245 km 773.5 mi |
East-west span | Widest extent of the outline on that axis |
| United Kingdom | 1,220 km 758.4 mi |
North-south span | Widest extent of the outline on that axis |
Both figures, Texas and United Kingdom, 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 Texas 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 United Kingdom above is scaled from measured distances instead. A gap of 2% is invisible without a shared baseline: on the ground line above, the United Kingdom stops 24.3 km (15.1 mi) short of Texas.
What each figure covers
Texas. Texas is measured east to west. It is the second largest American state, and that figure is the one that makes comparisons with entire countries work.
United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is measured north to south, Shetland to the Channel. Britain alone, without the islands, is considerably shorter.
Texas is quoted as an east-west span and the United Kingdom 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, Texas at 1,245 km sits within a tenth of Egypt at 1,229 km, France at 1,226 km and Ganges at 1,224 km. United Kingdom at 1,220 km has Cameroon at 1,269 km, Caspian Sea at 1,166 km and Italy at 1,289 km for company, within a tenth. Swapping any of those in for Texas would move its ratio to the United Kingdom by less than 10%.