Greenland vs Australia: which is bigger?
Australia is 3.58× the area of Greenland in our Natural Earth boundary dataset. The difference between the estimates is 5,551,182 km².
What the map can hide
Australia has the larger boundary-derived area. Greenland sits much farther from the equator, so Mercator gives its outline much stronger enlargement. The two drawings on a familiar world map therefore use different local area scales.
Latitude has the same effect north and south of the equator. Australia is also enlarged in Mercator, but the effect is weaker at its representative latitude than at Greenland’s. The equal-area outlines above make their area relationship visible without that polar emphasis.
Compare the outlines
Move Greenland over Australia in Mercator, then switch to Equal Earth. Greenland’s drawing changes as it moves south, but the numerical ratio remains fixed. An area ratio does not establish how many complete Greenland outlines could fit inside Australia.
Open this pair in the equal-area map or compare it in Mercator. The selected outline moves on the map, while both area numbers stay fixed.
How to read these figures
Greenland is a separately mapped territory; Australia is the country feature, rather than all of Oceania. Both estimates come from the same Natural Earth polygons. Generalized coastlines and islands affect the figures, so use a statistical source if you need official areas.
Both areas are calculated from the original Natural Earth 1:50m polygons before display simplification. They are consistent estimates for this site, rather than official land or total-area statistics. The area guide explains what those definitions include. The projection guide explains the changing drawing.