Freethought & Rationalism Archive

conkermaniac · 08-14-2003, 05:04 AM

According to geography.about.com, China is 9.6 million sq. km., and the United States is 9.1 million sq. km. The CIA World Factbook agrees with the former statistic, listing the area of China at approximately 9,596,960 sq. km. Fine. However, they list the United States at 9,629,091 sq. km, whereas I've usually seen something closer to 9,166,600 sq. km. What's even scarier is that the difference between these two figures is approximately the area of Iraq.

Am I missing something here?

mongrel · 08-14-2003, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by conkermaniac
According to geography.about.com, China is 9.6 million sq. km., and the United States is 9.1 million sq. km.

This probably isn't much help, but The Times Atlas of the world concurs about the size of China, but gives the size of the USA as 9 363 130sq. km.

Arken · 08-14-2003, 06:32 AM

Just a guess... it could be that some figures are only for the continental U.S. or only for U.S. states, leaving out Puerto Rico, Guam, etc.

Sarpedon · 08-14-2003, 10:11 AM

Those piddly little islands probably wouldn't make the difference. What about internal water features like lakes? Could that be the cause?

Mageth · 08-14-2003, 10:40 AM

From here for the U.S:

U.S.A:

Area:

total: 9,629,091 sq km
land: 9,158,960 sq km
water: 470,131 sq km
note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia

Area - comparative:

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; about two and a half times the size of Western Europe

Note that Puerto Rico is only a total of 9,104 sq km, Guam 549 sq km, and the Virgin Islands a total of 352 sq km.

And here for China:

China:

Area:

total: 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km
water: 270,550 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than the US

Here's the factbook where you can look up other countries.

SiliconWolf · 08-14-2003, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by conkermaniac
What's even scarier is that the difference between these two figures is approximately the area of Iraq.

Am I missing something here?

More specifically, the difference is approximately the area of Lake Michigan and half each of the other four Great Lakes. China, on the other hand, has much less inland water. Whether the US or China is larger depends on whether you count inland bodies of water in the total. Some organizations do and others don't. That's why everyone seems to report different numbers.

Postcard73 · 08-15-2003, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by conkermaniac
What's even scarier is that the difference between these two figures is approximately the area of Iraq.

Maybe that's where all the weapons of mass destruction are...

08-14-2003, 05:04 AM	#1
conkermaniac Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: American in China Posts: 620	CIA Geography Error? According to geography.about.com, China is 9.6 million sq. km., and the United States is 9.1 million sq. km. The CIA World Factbook agrees with the former statistic, listing the area of China at approximately 9,596,960 sq. km. Fine. However, they list the United States at 9,629,091 sq. km, whereas I've usually seen something closer to 9,166,600 sq. km. What's even scarier is that the difference between these two figures is approximately the area of Iraq. Am I missing something here?

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08-14-2003, 06:32 AM	#3
Arken Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: North Hollywood, CA Posts: 6,303	Just a guess... it could be that some figures are only for the continental U.S. or only for U.S. states, leaving out Puerto Rico, Guam, etc.

08-14-2003, 10:11 AM	#4
Sarpedon Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Minnesota, the least controversial state in the le Posts: 8,446	Those piddly little islands probably wouldn't make the difference. What about internal water features like lakes? Could that be the cause?

08-14-2003, 10:40 AM	#5
Mageth Contributor Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Deep in the heart of mother-lovin' Texas Posts: 29,689	From here for the U.S: U.S.A: Area: total: 9,629,091 sq km land: 9,158,960 sq km water: 470,131 sq km note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia Area - comparative: 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; about two and a half times the size of Western Europe Note that Puerto Rico is only a total of 9,104 sq km, Guam 549 sq km, and the Virgin Islands a total of 352 sq km. And here for China: China: Area: total: 9,596,960 sq km land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km Area - comparative: slightly smaller than the US Here's the factbook where you can look up other countries.

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