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Geography Stats: compare key data on European Union & United States

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Definitions

  • Area > Comparative: The area of various small countries expressed in comparison to various areas within the United States of America.
  • Area > Comparative to US places: This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
  • Area > Total: Total area in square kilometers
  • Climate: A brief description of typical weather regimes throughout the year.
  • Coastline: The total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
  • Coastline per 1000: The total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea. Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.
  • Elevation extremes > Highest point: Highest point above sea level
  • Irrigated land: The number of square kilometers of land area that is artificially supplied with water.
  • Land area > Sq. km: Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes."
  • Land boundaries > Border countries: Length of land boundaries by border country
  • Location: The country's regional location, neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of water.
  • Natural hazards: Potential natural disasters.
  • Natural resources: A country's mineral, petroleum, hydropower, and other resources of commercial importance.
  • Terrain: A brief description of the topography
  • Total area > Sq. km: Surface area is a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways."
  • Land area > Sq. km > Per capita: Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes." Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
  • Map references: The name of the CIA World Factbook reference map on which a country may be found. The entry on Geographic coordinates may be helpful in finding some smaller countries.
  • Forest area > Sq. km: Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems (for example, in fruit plantations and agroforestry systems) and trees in urban parks and gardens."
  • Area > Total per 1000: Total area in square kilometers. Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.
  • Road density > Km of road per 100 sq. km of land area: Road density (km of road per 100 sq. km of land area). Road density is the ratio of the length of the country's total road network to the country's land area. The road network includes all roads in the country: motorways, highways, main or national roads, secondary or regional roads, and other urban and rural roads.
  • Land boundaries > Total: The total length of all land boundaries and the individual lengths for each of the contiguous border countries
  • Irrigated land per million: The number of square kilometers of land area that is artificially supplied with water. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Area > Total > Per capita: Total area in square kilometers Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
  • Forest area > % of land area: Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems (for example, in fruit plantations and agroforestry systems) and trees in urban parks and gardens."
  • Terrestrial protected areas > % of total land area: Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area). Terrestrial protected areas are totally or partially protected areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities as scientific reserves with limited public access, national parks, natural monuments, nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, and areas managed mainly for sustainable use. Marine areas, unclassified areas, littoral (intertidal) areas, and sites protected under local or provincial law are excluded.
  • Population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters > % of total population: Population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total population). Population below 5m is the percentage of the total population living in areas where the elevation is 5 meters or less.
  • Land boundaries > Total per million: The total length of all land boundaries and the individual lengths for each of the contiguous border countries. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Agricultural land > % of land area: Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded. Land under permanent crops is land cultivated with crops that occupy the land for long periods and need not be replanted after each harvest, such as cocoa, coffee, and rubber. This category includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber. Permanent pasture is land used for five or more years for forage, including natural and cultivated crops.
  • Low-lying areas > Elevation under 5 metres > % of land area: Land area where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total land area). Land area below 5m is the percentage of total land where the elevation is 5 meters or less.
  • Arable land > % of land area: Arable land (% of land area). Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.
  • Terrestrial and marine protected areas > % of total territorial area: Terrestrial and marine protected areas (% of total territorial area). Terrestrial protected areas are totally or partially protected areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities as scientific reserves with limited public access, national parks, natural monuments, nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, and areas managed mainly for sustainable use. Marine protected areas are areas of intertidal or subtidal terrain--and overlying water and associated flora and fauna and historical and cultural features--that have been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment. Sites protected under local or provincial law are excluded.
  • Land boundaries > Total > Per capita: The total length of all land boundaries and the individual lengths for each of the contiguous border countries Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
STAT European Union United States HISTORY
Area > Comparative less than one-half the size of the US about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; more than twice the size of the European Union
Area > Comparative to US places less than one-half the size of the US about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; more than twice the size of the European Union
Area > Total 4.32 million sq km
Ranked 13th.
9.83 million sq km
Ranked 4th. 2 times more than European Union

Climate cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
Coastline 65,992.9 km
Ranked 5th. 3 times more than United States
19,924 km
Ranked 9th.

Coastline per 1000 0.13 km
Ranked 89th. 2 times more than United States
0.0639 km
Ranked 114th.

Elevation extremes > Highest point Mont Blanc 4,807 m; note - situated on the border between France and Italy Mount McKinley (Denali) 6,194 m (highest point in North America)
Irrigated land 131,250 sq km
Ranked 5th.
230,000 sq km
Ranked 3rd. 75% more than European Union

Land area > Sq. km 4.18 million sq km
Ranked 7th.
9.16 million sq km
Ranked 3rd. 2 times more than European Union

Land boundaries > Border countries Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 394 km, Moldova 450 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia 945 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 446 km, Ukraine 1,257 km Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Mexico 3,141 km
Location Europe between the North Atlantic Ocean in the west and Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine to the east North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Natural hazards flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic tsunamis; volcanoes; earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the Midwest and Southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development
Natural resources iron ore, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite, uranium, potash, salt, hydropower, arable land, timber, fish coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, rare earth elements, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber
Terrain fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
Total area > Sq. km 4.33 million
Ranked 7th.
9.63 million
Ranked 3rd. 2 times more than European Union

Land area > Sq. km > Per capita 8.52 per 1,000 people
Ranked 128th.
30.16 per 1,000 people
Ranked 56th. 4 times more than European Union

Map references <a href="/region/CAC" >Central America and the Caribbean</a> North America
Forest area > Sq. km 1.57 million
Ranked 7th.
3.03 million
Ranked 4th. 93% more than European Union

Area > Total per 1000 8.59 sq km
Ranked 127th.
32.31 sq km
Ranked 51st. 4 times more than European Union

Road density > Km of road per 100 sq. km of land area 130.08 sq. km
Ranked 22nd. 95% more than United States
66.57 sq. km
Ranked 36th.

Land boundaries > Total 12,440.8 km
Ranked 5th. 3% more than United States
12,034 km
Ranked 6th.

Irrigated land per million 266.44 sq km
Ranked 72nd.
771.61 sq km
Ranked 28th. 3 times more than European Union

Area > Total > Per capita 8.81 sq km per 1,000 people
Ranked 140th.
32.34 sq km per 1,000 people
Ranked 62nd. 4 times more than European Union

Forest area > % of land area 37.54%
Ranked 67th. 13% more than United States
33.12%
Ranked 81st.

Terrestrial protected areas > % of total land area 25.72%
Ranked 40th. 86% more than United States
13.82%
Ranked 104th.

Population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters > % of total population 7.36%
Ranked 84th. 79% more than United States
4.1%
Ranked 115th.

Land boundaries > Total per million 24.7 km
Ranked 144th.
39.57 km
Ranked 135th. 60% more than European Union

Agricultural land > % of land area 45.49%
Ranked 79th. 1% more than United States
44.88%
Ranked 81st.

Low-lying areas > Elevation under 5 metres > % of land area 3.31%
Ranked 89th. 93% more than United States
1.72%
Ranked 119th.

Arable land > % of land area 25.57%
Ranked 37th. 46% more than United States
17.51%
Ranked 63th.

Terrestrial and marine protected areas > % of total territorial area 25.08%
Ranked 35th. 66% more than United States
15.14%
Ranked 80th.

Land boundaries > Total > Per capita 0.025 km per 1,000 people
Ranked 153th.
0.04 km per 1,000 people
Ranked 144th. 60% more than European Union

SOURCES: CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011; All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008; CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; Food and Agriculture Organisation, electronic files and web site.; International Road Federation, World Road Statistics and electronic files, except where noted.; United Nations Environmental Program and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre; Center for International Earth Science Information Network; Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.; Food and Agriculture Organization

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