How big is South Australia?

South Australia covers an area of 984,321km². That’s almost four times the size of the UK, and bigger than every US state except Alaska.

Detailed answer: As any visitor who has ventured away from state capital Adelaide will know, South Australia is a vast state. And much of it is empty outback.

According to the Australian Government’s Geoscience Australia, South Australia covers an area of 984,321km² – around 12.8% of Australia’s total area. That makes South Australia the third largest state in Australia, after Western Australia and Queensland. It is also smaller than the Northern Territory, but slightly bigger than New South Wales.

For comparison points to smaller chunks of Australia, South Australia is nearly 14.5 times the size of Tasmania and 417 times the size of the Australian Capital Territory.

But how big is South Australia on an international scale? Well, the only US state bigger than it is Alaska. Even Texas seems relatively small – South Australia is 39% bigger than the Lone Star State.

If South Australia was an independent country, it would be the 29th biggest country in the world, just ahead of Tanzania, Nigeria, Venezuela and Pakistan. Egypt, which is ever so slightly bigger, is the closest country in size. Not in population, though – South Australia is remarkably sparsely populated, with just 1.76 million people living there. And almost all of those are in Adelaide.

For a British comparison point, the United Kingdom’s land area is 241,930km². The state is very close to being four times bigger than the UK.

South Australia as a percentage of Australia

Perhaps more remarkably, South Australia only makes up 12.8% of Australia’s total area. That goes to show just how big Australia is…

A big area means big distances, although most of the state’s attractions are sandwiched close to Adelaide. These include the McLaren Vale – check out the d’Arenberg Cube, Inkwell Wines and Onkaparinga Gorge while there – and Barossa Valley wine regions. There’s also the Coorong’s cruises and kayaking tours from Goolwa, arty Hahndorf and the Mouth of the Murray River.

(Much) further afield are strange outback towns such as Woomera and Coober Pedy, the rugged Flinders Ranges and the underrated Eyre Peninsula. The latter is home to shark cage dives, swimming with sealions, top drawer koala sightings and some of the best oysters in Australia.