Brazil eats Western Europe
Around fifteen European countries — close to the entire EU by area — fit inside Brazil, and it's still only half full.
By W. Viljoen · Published 21 June 2026
Filling Brazil
50% full
4,240,786 km² to go
- France× 1
- Spain× 1
- Sweden× 1
- Norway× 1
- Germany× 1
- Finland× 1
- Poland× 1
- Italy× 1
- United Kingdom× 1
- Romania× 1
- Greece× 1
- Bulgaria× 1
- Iceland× 1
- Hungary× 1
- Portugal× 1
Open in the sandbox The stack
Line up France, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Finland, Poland, Italy, the UK,
Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Iceland, Hungary and Portugal — fifteen countries, much
of Western and Northern Europe — and drop them into Brazil. Together they come to
roughly the entire European Union by area. Brazil swallows the lot and is barely
half full.
The numbers
- Brazil: 8,523,993 km²
- The fifteen countries above: about 4.28 million km² combined
That's just over 50% of Brazil. The whole EU is about 4.2 million km² — so Brazil
could hold the European Union, and then very nearly a second one beside it.
Why the map hides it
Brazil straddles the equator, where Mercator adds almost no inflation, so the map
draws it close to its true size. Europe lies far to the north and gets stretched —
the further north, the more. A map therefore shows a sprawling Europe and a "merely
large" Brazil, and the idea that Brazil could eat the continent twice over looks
absurd. The area says otherwise.
Try it
The fifteen countries are stacked on the map, filling Brazil about halfway. Keep
adding from the search to push toward the brim, or open in the sandbox to see how
much of Europe Brazil can take before the level finally reaches the top.
Explore Brazil, France, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Finland, Poland, Italy, United Kingdom, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Iceland, Hungary, and Portugal on the full-screen map→Next in It All Fits InsideThe Congo swallows northern Europe→