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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