Germany is 8.63× the size of Switzerland
Germany covers about 358,000 km² (138,000 mi²) and Switzerland about 41,400 km² (16,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.
- 358,000km²Germany
- 41,400km²Switzerland
200 km
- Germany
- Switzerland
What fits
- Switzerland fits inside Germany about 8.63 times by area.
- Germany is larger by 316,000 km² (122,000 mi²), which is 763% of the area of Switzerland.
- Measured in Belgiums: Germany is about 11.7, Switzerland about 1.35.
How they differ
- Germany also has the larger population: 83.5 million against 9.1 million, 9.17× as many people.
- Per square kilometre that is 233 in Germany against 220 in Switzerland: Germany is 1.06× as densely populated.
- Their centres are about 498 km apart.
- A standard web map misstates the comparison: Germany at 51°N is drawn about 2.5× too large and Switzerland at 47°N about 2.1×, so the map shows Germany as 10.2× the size of Switzerland instead of 8.63×.
- Together Germany and Switzerland cover 399,000 km², close to the size of Paraguay (400,000 km², 0.2% bigger).
- The gap between them, 316,000 km², is about the size of Poland (313,000 km²).
- At Switzerland's density, Germany would have 78.6 million people (it has 83.5 million). At Germany's density, Switzerland would have 9.7 million (it has 9.1 million).
- Germany's centre is 4.3° of latitude, about 470 km, farther north than Switzerland's.
Who wins on what
| Measure | Winner | By |
|---|---|---|
| Larger area | Germany | 8.63× |
| More people | Germany | 9.17× |
| More crowded | Germany | 1.06× |
| Farther north | Germany | 4.3° of latitude |
| Stretched more on a web map | Germany | 2.5× against 2.1× |
Both against the same yardsticks
| Yardstick | Germany | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium 30,700 km² | 11.7× | 1.35× |
| United Kingdom 244,000 km² | 1.47× | 0.17× |
| Japan 374,000 km² | 0.96× | 0.11× |
| France 548,000 km² | 0.65× | 0.08× |
| India 3,151,000 km² | 0.11× | 0.01× |
| Brazil 8,473,000 km² | 0.04× | 1 in 204 |
| United States 9,447,000 km² | 0.04× | 1 in 228 |
| Russia 16,980,000 km² | 0.02× | 1 in 410 |
Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.
Side by side
| Germany | Switzerland | |
|---|---|---|
| Area, main territory | 358,000 km²138,000 mi² | 41,400 km²16,000 mi² |
| Population | 83.5 millionWikidata, 2025 | 9.1 millionWikidata, 2025 |
| Density | 233 per km² | 220 per km² |
| Official area | 358,000 km²Wikidata | 41,300 km²Wikidata |
| Capital | Berlin | Bern |
| Latitude range | 47°N to 55°N | 46°N to 48°N |
| Continent | Europe | Europe |
Population: Wikidata 2025, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).
- Wikidata's official figure of 358,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 358,000 km², to within 2%.
- Wikidata's official figure of 41,300 km² agrees with our measured area of 41,400 km², to within 2%.
Similar in size to Germany
Similar in size to Switzerland
More comparisons
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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