California is 1.07× the size of Norway
California (state of the United States) covers about 410,000 km² (158,000 mi²) and Norway (Europe) about 382,000 km² (147,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.
- 410,000km²California
- 382,000km²Norway
500 km
- California
- Norway
What fits
- Norway is 93% of the size of California.
- California is larger by 27,700 km² (10,700 mi²), which is 7.3% of the area of Norway.
- Measured in Belgiums: California is about 13.4, Norway about 12.5.
How they differ
- California also has the larger population: 39.5 million against 5.6 million, 7.03× as many people.
- Per square kilometre that is 96 in California against 15 in Norway: California is 6.55× as densely populated.
- Their centres are about 7,800 km apart.
- On a standard web map Norway looks larger than California: California at 37°N is drawn about 1.6× too large and Norway at 66°N about 6.2×, so the map shows Norway as 3.69× the size of California, when California is 1.07× the size of Norway.
- Together California and Norway cover 792,000 km², close to the size of Mozambique (788,000 km², 0.4% smaller).
- The gap between them, 27,700 km², is about the size of Solomon Islands (27,200 km²).
- At Norway's density, California would have 6.0 million people (it has 39.5 million). At California's density, Norway would have 36.9 million (it has 5.6 million).
- Norway's centre is 29.2° of latitude, about 3,250 km, farther north than California's.
- California is the 3rd largest of the 51 states and districts of the United States and covers 4.3% of its area; it is the 12th most densely populated of them.
- Norway ranks 63rd of 246 countries and territories by area.
- Norway lies about 29° of latitude (roughly 3,250 km) north of California.
- Shared out evenly, each person in California would have about 10,360 m² and each person in Norway about 67,890 m².
- Laid side by side, California and Norway would cover 792,000 km², about the same size as Mozambique.
- Together they have 45.2 million people, about as many people as Algeria.
- Counted as a country, California would rank 60th by area and 37th by population.
Side by side
| California | Norway | |
|---|---|---|
| Is a | StateUnited States | CountryEurope |
| Area, measured | 410,000 km²158,000 mi² | 382,000 km²147,000 mi² |
| Official area | 424,000 km²Wikidata | 385,000 km²Wikidata |
| Rank by area | 3rd of 51in the United States | 62nd of 239worldwide |
| Population | 39.5 millionWikidata, 2020 | 5.6 millionWikidata, 2026 |
| Rank by population | 1st of 51in the United States | 117th of 237worldwide |
| Density | 96 per km² | 15 per km² |
| Capital | Sacramento | Oslo |
| Latitude range | 33°N to 42°N | 58°N to 81°N |
Population: Wikidata 2020 and Wikidata 2026. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).
- Our measured 410,000 km² is 3.4% below Wikidata's official figure of 424,000 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently.
- Wikidata's official figure of 385,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 382,000 km², to within 2%.
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Similar in size to Norway
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Sources and method
- Outlines
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 1 - States, Provinces, public domain for the region; Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
- Boundary
- De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth. A region is drawn whole, every island included; a country is its main territory.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded.
- Drawing
- Each outline is projected with an equal-area projection centred on its own centroid, so areas stay true and the two can be laid over each other.
- Data built
- 2026-11-12