Is Brazil Bigger Than New York? (Infographic)

Brazil is a gigantic country (fifth-largest on Earth). Even so, as South America is thousands of miles away from the US, it’s hard to visualize how big this country is. So, comparing it with a reference you know is an excellent way to understand the size of Brazil. Hence the question: is Brazil bigger than New York?

Brazil is 60.2 times bigger than the New York state and almost 7000 times the size of NYC. The fifth-largest country, the area of Brazil, is 3,287,956 mi² (8,515,767 km²). Comparably, the NY (state) estimated size is 54,556 mi² (141,299 km²). Finally, NYC’s total area is 472.43 mi² (1,223.59 km²).

Brazil Is Way Bigger Than New York

New York is not one of the top 20 US states in terms of total size, but it does not mean it’s small. On the contrary, with a total area of 54,556 mi² (or 141,299 km²), the so-called Empire State is even bigger than some countries. However, compared to Brazil, New York state is super tiny. But that’s not a shame.

Brazil is the fifth-largest country globally, losing only to the United States, China, Canada, and Russia. Also, it’s the biggest country in South America and the largest contiguous territory in the Americas (yes, Brazil is bigger than the contiguous United States).

State / Country	Square Miles	Square Kilometers
Brazil	3,287,956	8,515,767
New York	54,556	141,299
New York City	472	1,223

The numbers show that Brazil is about 60.2 times bigger than the New York state and almost 7000 times larger than New York City. However, those stats may not give you a great idea of how New York and NYC compare to Brazil since sizing is often better understood visually.

So, thinking about it, we created a nice infographic. This way, you’ll see how tiny the NY state and NYC (even hard to see) look superimposed on the Brazilian territory.

To create a precise comparison, we need to avoid a problem known as Mercator distortions that causes imprecise measurements. Google Maps, for example, uses the Mercator projection, a 2D map projection that sacrifices size to maintain shape. So it’s not the best option for this study.

To get around Mercator distortions, we used thetruesize.com, which corrects the flaws, to create our maps comparing Brazil to New York state. To represent NYC in the map, we used a red circle, as the area of the Big Apple is too small for the software to detect.

GDP: New York City Is Comparable To Brazil

Comparing the size of the city and state of New York with Brazil was an easy victory for the biggest country in South America. However, the game completely changes when we start to compare the economy.

Even though Brazil is about 60 times larger than the state of New York (and almost 7,000 times larger than the city), the Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is practically the same as the NY. That’s insane! Especially if we consider that much of this comes from only one city. NYC is one of the most important (and prosperous) cities on Earth, but having virtually the same GDP of an entire nation is incredible.

State / Country	GDP (2019)	GDP (2020)
Brazil	1,877.82 trillion (USD)	1,444.72 trillion (USD)
New York	1,490.68 trillion (USD)	1,402.41 trillion (USD)

Notice that the Brazilian numbers before the pandemic were better, but the value was close even then. But in the current scenario, the economic power of the iconic “Empire State” is staggering. Finally, these numbers show another exciting fact: New York was an independent country; it would be the 10th economy in the world. Also, feel free to check the numbers: NY and Brazil

New York: The 27th Largest American State

Compared to Brazil and some other US states, New York is not that big. But don’t be mistaken, 54,556 mi² (141,299 km²) is a lot of lands. To give you some perspective, know that the state of New York is bigger than some important countries, such as Belgium, Portugal, Denmark, Ireland, Iceland, Costa Rica, and Uruguay. And those are just some examples, there are more.

Rank	State Name	Square Miles
1	Alaska	663,267
2	Texas	268,581
3	California	163,696
4	Montana	147,042
5	New Mexico	121,589
6	Arizona	113,998
7	Nevada	110,561
8	Colorado	104,094
9	Oregon	98,381
10	Wyoming	97,814
11	Michigan	96,716
12	Minnesota	86,939
13	Utah	84,899
14	Idaho	83,570
15	Kansas	82,277
16	Nebraska	77,354
17	South Dakota	77,117
18	Washington	71,300
19	North Dakota	70,700
20	Oklahoma	69,898
21	Missouri	69,704
22	Florida	65,755
23	Wisconsin	65,498
24	Georgia	59,425
25	Illinois	57,914
26	Iowa	56,272
27	New York	54,556
28	North Carolina	53,819
29	Arkansas	53,179
30	Alabama	52,419
31	Louisiana	51,840
32	Mississippi	48,430
33	Pennsylvania	46,055
34	Ohio	44,825
35	Virginia	42,774
36	Tennessee	42,143
37	Kentucky	40,409
38	Indiana	36,418
39	Maine	35,385
40	South Carolina	32,020
41	West Virginia	24,230
42	Maryland	12,407
43	Hawaii	10,931
44	Massachusetts	10,555
45	Vermont	9,614
46	New Hampshire	9,350
47	New Jersey	8,721
48	Connecticut	5,543
49	Delaware	2,489
50	Rhode Island	1,545

Related Questions

Is there a bigger city than New York? There are bigger cities than New York City. A great example is Tokyo, which is bigger and has more inhabitants than NYC. However, it is less densely populated. While Seoul is has a more significant populational density and inhabitants, but has a smaller area.

Is Sao Paulo bigger than New York City? Sao Paulo is bigger than New York City. The total area of the Brazilian city is 1,521 km², with a population of 12,3 million people. New York is smaller, with 1,223 km² and a total population of 8,41 million. However, New York is more densely populated.

Is Brazil bigger than London? Brazil is way bigger than London. The size of Brazil is 3,287,956 mi² (8,515,767 km²). That’s 5146 times the size of the city of London. The capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom has a total area of 607 mi² (1,572 km²).

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