08/09/2026
🌎 A MAP SHOWING WHICH COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD ARE SMALLER THAN TEXAS, AND WHICH ONES ARE ACTUALLY BIGGER.
Texas is HUGE.
And I mean HUGE! 😂
Texas covers about 268,600 square miles (695,700 square kilometers), making it the second-largest U.S. state after Alaska. Its size becomes even more fascinating when you stop comparing it with American states and start comparing it with entire countries.
And here is where things get interesting for us Africans. 😄🇺🇬
Texas is about 3 times the size of Uganda!
Uganda is roughly 241,000 square kilometers, while Texas is about 696,000 square kilometers.
So, if Texas were somehow dropped into East Africa, Uganda could fit inside Texas almost three times! 😂
Imagine someone saying:
“I'm going to travel across Texas.”
And a Ugandan responds:
“Okay, that's like crossing Uganda... three times. Good luck!” 😂😂
But wait… it gets even more interesting.
🇪🇺 EUROPE IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST SURPRISE.
Every sovereign country in Europe is smaller than Texas by total area, including France, Ukraine, Spain, Germany, Poland, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Yes, even France! 🇫🇷
For us Ugandans, this means Texas is almost like saying:
“Take Uganda and add another two Ugandas… and we're still talking about Texas!” 😂
Texas is also larger than countries such as Afghanistan, Myanmar, Kenya, Somalia, Madagascar and Japan—countries that can feel absolutely enormous when viewed individually.
And Kenya? Our neighbour Kenya is about 583,000 square kilometers, meaning Texas is still larger by more than 100,000 square kilometers.
So you could almost imagine Texas looking at Kenya and saying:
“My friend, you're big… but I'm bigger.” 😂
But Texas isn't the biggest kid in the classroom.
🌍 COUNTRIES BIGGER THAN TEXAS
The obvious giants include:
🇷🇺 Russia
🇨🇦 Canada
🇨🇳 China
🇧🇷 Brazil
🇦🇺 Australia
🇮🇳 India
But there are also countries such as Kazakhstan, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, South Africa, Colombia and Turkey that are larger than Texas.
Some comparisons are surprisingly close.
Texas is only moderately larger than countries such as France, Ukraine and Afghanistan, which shows just how misleading our mental picture of geographical size can sometimes be.
And here's another reason maps can fool us:
🗺️ The world map isn't always telling the truth about size.
Common map projections distort the apparent size of land areas, especially toward the poles. That's why comparing actual area figures gives us a much clearer understanding of how big places really are.
So the next time someone tells you “Texas is just a state,” remember:
Texas is not just large by American standards.
If Texas were an independent country, it would rank among the larger nations in the world by area.
And for my fellow Ugandans…
Don't look at Texas and say:
“That's just one American state.” 😂
Look at it this way:
Texas ≈ 3 Ugandas.
Now imagine Uganda multiplied by three, put it in cowboy boots, give it oil, barbecue and a southern accent… 🤠😂
THAT is Texas!
🌍 Geography can really humble us.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau; international country total-area data.
