Madagascar is 1.08× the size of France
Madagascar covers about 593,000 km² (229,000 mi²) and France about 548,000 km² (212,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.
- 593,000km²Madagascar
- 548,000km²France
200 km
- Madagascar
- France
Outlines show main territory. France also has about 88,900 km² of overseas territory. These are not drawn, and not counted in the comparison.
What fits
- France is 92% of the size of Madagascar.
- Madagascar is larger by 45,100 km² (17,400 mi²), which is 8.2% of the area of France.
- Measured in Belgiums: Madagascar is about 19.3, France about 17.9.
How they differ
- Madagascar is larger, but France has the larger population: 68.6 million against 32.0 million, 2.15× as many people.
- Per square kilometre that is 108 in France against 54 in Madagascar: France is 2.00× as densely populated.
- Their centres are about 8,560 km apart.
- On a standard web map France looks larger than Madagascar: Madagascar at 19°S is drawn about 1.1× too large and France at 47°N about 2.1×, so the map shows France as 1.74× the size of Madagascar, when Madagascar is 1.08× the size of France.
- Together Madagascar and France cover 1,141,000 km², close to the size of Colombia (1,135,000 km², 0.5% smaller).
- The gap between them, 45,100 km², is about the size of Estonia (45,800 km²).
- At France's density, Madagascar would have 63.9 million people (it has 32.0 million). At Madagascar's density, France would have 34.3 million (it has 68.6 million).
- France's centre is 65.8° of latitude, about 7,320 km, farther north than Madagascar's.
Who wins on what
| Measure | Winner | By |
|---|---|---|
| Larger area | Madagascar | 1.08× |
| More people | France | 2.15× |
| More crowded | France | 2.00× |
| Farther north | France | 65.8° of latitude |
| Stretched more on a web map | France | 2.1× against 1.1× |
Both against the same yardsticks
| Yardstick | Madagascar | France |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium 30,700 km² | 19.3× | 17.9× |
| United Kingdom 244,000 km² | 2.43× | 2.25× |
| Germany 358,000 km² | 1.66× | 1.53× |
| Japan 374,000 km² | 1.59× | 1.47× |
| India 3,151,000 km² | 0.19× | 0.17× |
| Brazil 8,473,000 km² | 0.07× | 0.06× |
| United States 9,447,000 km² | 0.06× | 0.06× |
| Russia 16,980,000 km² | 0.03× | 0.03× |
Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.
Side by side
| Madagascar | France | |
|---|---|---|
| Area, main territory | 593,000 km²229,000 mi² | 548,000 km²212,000 mi² |
| Area with overseas territory | 593,000 km² | 637,000 km² |
| Population | 32.0 millionWikidata, 2024 | 68.6 millionWikidata, 2025 |
| Density | 54 per km² | 108 per km² |
| Official area | 587,000 km²Wikidata | 644,000 km²Wikidata |
| Capital | Antananarivo | Paris |
| Latitude range | 26°S to 12°S | 41°N to 51°N |
| Continent | Africa | Europe |
Population: Wikidata 2024 and Wikidata 2025, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).
- Wikidata's official figure of 587,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 593,000 km², to within 2%.
- Wikidata's official figure of 644,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 637,000 km², to within 2%.
Similar in size to Madagascar
Similar in size to France
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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