China is 1.22× the size of Australia

China covers about 9,375,000 km² (3,620,000 mi²) and Australia about 7,691,000 km² (2,970,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

9,375,000km²China
7,691,000km²Australia

1,000 km

China
Australia

What fits

Australia is 82% of the size of China.
China is larger by 1,684,000 km² (650,000 mi²), which is 22% of the area of Australia.
Measured in Belgiums: China is about 306, Australia about 251.

How they differ

China also has the larger population: 1.40 billion against 27.6 million, 50.9× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 150 in China against 3.6 in Australia: China is 41.7× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 7,660 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: China at 37°N is drawn about 1.6× too large and Australia at 26°S about 1.2×, so the map shows China as 1.54× the size of Australia instead of 1.22×.
Together China and Australia cover 17,066,000 km², close to the size of Russia (16,980,000 km², 0.5% smaller).
The gap between them, 1,684,000 km², is about the size of Libya (1,624,000 km²).
At Australia's density, China would have 33.7 million people (it has 1.40 billion). At China's density, Australia would have 1.15 billion (it has 27.6 million).
China's centre is 62.5° of latitude, about 6,940 km, farther north than Australia's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	China	1.22×
More people	China	50.9×
More crowded	China	41.7×
Farther north	China	62.5° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	China	1.6× against 1.2×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	China	Australia
Belgium 30,700 km²	306×	251×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	38.5×	31.5×
Germany 358,000 km²	26.2×	21.5×
Japan 374,000 km²	25.1×	20.6×
France 548,000 km²	17.1×	14.0×
India 3,151,000 km²	2.98×	2.44×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	1.11×	0.91×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.99×	0.81×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.55×	0.45×

Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.

Side by side

	China	Australia
Area, main territory	9,375,000 km²3,620,000 mi²	7,691,000 km²2,970,000 mi²
Population	1.40 billionWikidata, 2025	27.6 millionWikidata, 2025
Density	150 per km²	3.6 per km²
Official area	9,563,000 km²Wikidata	7,688,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Beijing	Canberra
Latitude range	16°N to 54°N	44°S to 9°S
Continent	Asia	Oceania

Population: Wikidata 2025, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 9,563,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 9,375,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 7,688,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 7,691,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to China

Similar in size to Australia

More comparisons

Sources and method

Outlines: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth. Main territory: the largest landmass and every part within 1,000 km of it.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded. Comparisons use main-territory area.
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: 2026-11-11

Full method