The state of Texas is so large that it’s often compared to entire countries, not just other U.S. states. For example, how big is Texas compared to Europe? If you were to combine the land area of Europe with Texas, the resulting country would be just a bit smaller than the United States. In this article, we’ll compare the size of Texas over Europe in terms of population and GDP (Gross Domestic Product) as well as the overall land area each takes upon Earth’s surface.
Size of Texas
It’s hard to wrap your head around just how big Texas is as compared to Europe really is. This state, which covers 268,820 square miles and has a population of more than 27 million people, spans eight time zones and encompasses 254 counties. It would take you about two weeks to drive across it.
The Economy and Population
People who live in Texas don’t like to be called Southerners, and people who live in Paris don’t like to be called Europeans. Still, size matters—and Texas has an economy and population that’s much bigger than those of Europe’s largest countries. To put it another way: In terms of GDP and population, Texas would rank as a top-10 country in both categories if it broke off from America today. Why does size matter?
Climate Comparisons
While it may seem like comparing Texas to Europe is a stretch, from a landmass perspective, Texas does actually cover more area. Using only 1-degree latitude and longitude lines as a comparison to give each region an equal number of border crossings, here’s how big Texas is as compared to Europe stacks up against some of its close continental neighbors.
Geography Comparisons
Europe and Texas aren’t all that dissimilar in size. Texas, at 268,581 square miles, accounts for about two percent of U.S. landmass—which ranks it behind Alaska (1/7), Washington State (1/18), and California (1/22). Texas, however, leads New York by almost five million acres and Washington by nearly eight million acres.
Similarities with Russia
Russia spans 9.4 million square miles, making it by far Earth’s largest country. But why isn’t Russia in second place? It all comes down to its extreme width. Most countries are long and skinny—like Chile or Tanzania, which only have one-sixth as much area as Russia but nearly twice as many people. In contrast, Russia is truly massive—about as big in area as Greenland and Antarctica combined, though a little less populated.
Other Interesting Facts
In fact, if you took all of Europe and somehow managed to re-create it in its entirety inside of Texas, there would still be at least 300 miles left over. Some other interesting facts about Texas: It’s currently home to roughly 27 million people. There are more jobs available in Texas than anywhere else in America. And did we mention that it’s freak in’ huge? Because it really is. Like, for real huge.
History Comparisons
It’s a bit of an exaggeration to say that Texas is larger than all of Western Europe, but it’s not far off. The Lone Star State has a land area larger than France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Britain combined. Even if you throw in Eastern European countries like Romania and Ukraine, you still fall short by about 1 million square miles. Yes, in terms of geographic size alone, Texas dominates its EU counterpart… which makes sense when you consider that it was once part of Mexico.
