Africa is about 30.37 million square kilometers (11.7 million square miles) in size, making it the second largest continent on Earth after Asia. It covers roughly one-fifth of the total land surface of the planet. Africa spans approximately 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) from north to south and about 7,400 kilometers (4,600 miles) from east to west. Its vast size can fit the entire United States, China, India, and many European countries combined within its borders. Due to map projections like the Mercator projection, Africa often appears smaller than it actually is on common world maps, but its true scale is immense and diverse in geography and population.