Peru Size Comparison – How Big is Peru?

How big is Peru? Looking at a map will give you a rough idea, but maps are often distorted. Map projections turn our spherical globe into a nice, flat representation of the world which, while very clever, does not always show things as they are.

Here are some Peru size comparisons, along with Peru area measurements, to help you get a better idea of the actual size of Peru.

Area of Peru in Square Miles & Kilometers

According to the CIA World Factbook, Peru covers a total area of 1,285,216 square kilometers, or 496,224 square miles. This area is delineated by international boundaries and/or coastlines, and so does not include coastal waters belonging to Peru. Inland water bodies, such as lakes, rivers and reservoirs, account for 5,220 square kilometers of the total size of Peru.

Peru Size Comparison

These numbers are pretty hard to imagine, so let’s throw in a few Peru size comparisons to make things a little clearer. The following countries fall to either side of Peru in the area rankings:

Area in km2 / Country

2,149,690 – Saudi Arabia

1,972,550 – Mexico

1,919,440 – Indonesia

1,759,540 – Libya

1,648,000 – Iran

1,564,116 – Mongolia

1,285,216 – Peru

1,284,000 – Chad

1,267,000 – Niger

1,246,700 – Angola

1,240,000 – Mali

1,219,912 – South Africa

1,138,910 – Colombia

More Peru Size Comparisons

Russia is the largest country in the world, with a total area of 17,098,242 km2. Next comes Canada (9,984,670 km2) followed by the United States at 9,629,091 km2 (depending on who you ask). All of these nations pretty much dwarf little Peru.

And how big is Peru compared to some of the European countries? Well, it’s bigger than France (643,427 km2), Spain (504,782 km2), Germany (357,021 km2) and the United Kingdom (243,610 km2). To put that into perspective, the Peruvian department of Loreto (NE Peru, capital Iquitos) has an area of 368,852 km2, larger than both the UK and Germany.

As far as U.S. states are concerned, Peru is slightly smaller than Alaska (1,717,854 km2) and almost twice the size of the second largest state, Texas (695,621 km2).

So, Peru is big. But whether you think it’s really big or just quite big pretty much depends on where you come from….