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Iceland's area vs the United States': size comparison by land type

Updated on by Georank team

The United States is 95.4 times bigger by total area compared to Iceland: 3,794,100 sq mi vs 39,770 sq mi. Without inland water, the land area of the United States is 3,531,839 sq mi vs 38,931 sq mi for Iceland — a 90.7 times difference in territory size.

  • Iceland ranks 106/197 by total surface area vs 3/197 for the United States.
  • Iceland occupies 0.07% of the land mass of all countries, compared with 6.14% for the United States.
  • 16.2% of Iceland's area is agricultural land vs 46.1% in the United States.
  • Iceland has 0.03% of the world's agricultural land area — the US has 8.83%.
  • 0.53% of Iceland is covered by forests, compared to 33.9% in the US.
  • 0.001% of the world's forests are in Iceland, and 7.67% are in the United States.

True size map comparison: Iceland vs United States

See how Iceland and the United States compare in true size on the map. Drag the outlines to different latitudes to see how the Mercator projection affects their apparent size.

Total size and land area comparison

Iceland United States
Total area 39,770
sq mi 		3,794,100
sq mi
Size difference ratio 1 95.4
Total area rank 106/197 3/197
Share of all countries' surface area 0.02% 1.93%
Land area 38,931
sq mi 		3,531,839
sq mi
Land area difference ratio 1 90.7
Land area rank 104/197 3/197
Share of all countries' land area 0.07% 6.14%
Population 386,506 341,784,857
Population density 10.2 ppl/mi² 97.3 ppl/mi²

Surface area by type

Iceland United States
Forest area 205.8
sq mi 		1,196,125
sq mi
Forest area as share of land 0.53% 33.9%
Forest area rank 161/196 4/196
World's forests share 0.001% 7.67%
Agricultural land area 6,324
sq mi 		1,627,576
sq mi
Agricultural land share 16.2% 46.1%
Agricultural land area rank 127/194 2/194
Share of global agricultural land 0.03% 8.83%
Arable land 467
sq mi 		585,190
sq mi
Arable land share 1.2% 16.6%
Arable land area rank 144/191 2/191
Permanent cropland n/a 12,242
sq mi
Permanent cropland share n/a 0.35%
Permanent cropland area rank n/a 14/192
Water area 839
sq mi 		262,262
sq mi
Water as share of total area 2.11% 6.91%
Water area rank 93/197 3/197
Roads length 8,014
mi 		4,092,730
mi
Land borders length 0
mi 		7,458
mi
Coastline length 3,088
mi 		12,380
mi
Share of marine protected waters 0.5% 19%

Size of Iceland compared to states in USA

If Iceland were a state in the US, it would be the 38th biggest by land area: larger than Indiana, smaller than Kentucky, and 6.71 times smaller than the size of Texas.

# State Land area Compared to Iceland
1 Alaska 570,641 sq mi x14.7
2 Texas 261,232 sq mi x6.71
3 California 155,779 sq mi x4
4 Montana 145,546 sq mi x3.74
5 New Mexico 121,298 sq mi x3.12
6 Arizona 113,594 sq mi x2.92
7 Nevada 109,781 sq mi x2.82
8 Colorado 103,642 sq mi x2.66
9 Wyoming 97,093 sq mi x2.49
10 Oregon 95,988 sq mi x2.47
11 Idaho 82,643 sq mi x2.12
12 Utah 82,169 sq mi x2.11
13 Kansas 81,759 sq mi x2.1
14 Minnesota 79,627 sq mi x2.05
15 Nebraska 76,824 sq mi x1.97
16 South Dakota 75,811 sq mi x1.95
17 North Dakota 69,001 sq mi x1.77
18 Missouri 68,742 sq mi x1.77
19 Oklahoma 68,595 sq mi x1.76
20 Washington 66,456 sq mi x1.71
21 Georgia 57,513 sq mi x1.48
22 Michigan 56,539 sq mi x1.45
23 Iowa 55,857 sq mi x1.43
24 Illinois 55,519 sq mi x1.43
25 Wisconsin 54,158 sq mi x1.39
26 Florida 53,625 sq mi x1.38
27 Arkansas 52,035 sq mi x1.34
28 Alabama 50,645 sq mi x1.3
29 North Carolina 48,618 sq mi x1.25
30 New York 47,126 sq mi x1.21
31 Mississippi 46,923 sq mi x1.21
32 Pennsylvania 44,743 sq mi x1.15
33 Louisiana 43,204 sq mi x1.11
34 Tennessee 41,235 sq mi x1.06
35 Ohio 40,861 sq mi x1.05
36 Virginia 39,490 sq mi x1.01
37 Kentucky 39,486 sq mi x1.01
* Iceland 38,931 sq mi *
38 Indiana 35,826 sq mi 0.92
39 Maine 30,843 sq mi 0.79
40 South Carolina 30,061 sq mi 0.77
41 West Virginia 24,038 sq mi 0.62
42 Maryland 9,707 sq mi 0.25
43 Vermont 9,217 sq mi 0.24
44 New Hampshire 8,953 sq mi 0.23
45 Massachusetts 7,800 sq mi 0.2
46 New Jersey 7,354 sq mi 0.19
47 Hawaii 6,423 sq mi 0.16
48 Connecticut 4,842 sq mi 0.12
49 Puerto Rico 3,459 sq mi 0.09
50 Delaware 1,949 sq mi 0.05
51 Rhode Island 1,045 sq mi 0.03
52 Guam 209.7 sq mi 0.005
53 Northern Mariana Islands 179.2 sq mi 0.005
54 US Virgin Islands 133.7 sq mi 0.003
55 American Samoa 76.4 sq mi 0.002
56 District of Columbia 61 sq mi 0.002

Iceland vs United States size on the map

Data sources: World Bank | Agriculture & Rural Development (2026, retrieved 2026-04-06).

GeoRank.org/size/iceland/united-states | CC BY

The map above outlines the borders of Iceland and the United States but is not accurate for size comparison because it's a 2d map with Mercator projection that distorts territories near the poles. The farther a country is from the equator, the more magnified it appears. More about country size projections.

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Data sources:

  1. World Bank | Agriculture & Rural Development (2023–2026, retrieved 2026-04-06)
  2. Wikidata (2026, retrieved 2026-02-08)
  3. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2025, retrieved 2026-02-20)
  4. United Nations | World Population Prospects (2026, retrieved 2026-03-10)
  5. U.S. Census Bureau (2025, retrieved 2026-02-08)

Total agricultural land encompasses all areas used for agriculture: territories under permanent and temporary crops and pastures. It includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit and nut trees, and vineyards, but excludes sites utilized for timber production.

Arable land encompasses fields utilized for temporary crop production, pastures, market or kitchen gardens, and temporarily fallowed land. Land abandoned due to shifting cultivation practices is not included.

Permanent cropland refers to farmland for the long-term cultivation of crops, such as coffee, cocoa, and rubber, which do not require replanting after each harvest. This category encompasses land with permanent crops like flowering shrubs, fruit and nut trees, and vines, but does not include land under trees for timber production.

Inland areas under water, such as large rivers, lakes, and some coastal waterways.

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