The map above shows California and Germany side by side at exactly the same scale, using equal-area projections, so their true relative sizes are preserved.
California vs Germany Geography
Land area
- California has a land area of 155,859 square miles (403,673 km²), while Germany has 134,623 square miles (348,672 km²).
- California's land area is 1.2 times (16%) larger than Germany's.
Total area
- California: 163,694 square miles (423,965 km²) vs Germany: 138,069 square miles (357,596 km²), including inland and coastal water.
- California's total area is 1.2 times (19%) larger than Germany's.
Length
- California is 761 miles (1,224 km) long from north to south; Germany is 531 miles (854 km).
- California's north-south length is 1.4 times (43%) longer than Germany's.
Width
- California spans 706 miles (1,137 km) east to west; Germany spans 397 miles (639 km).
- California's east-west width is 1.8 times (78%) wider than Germany's.
Highest point
- California's highest point is Mount Whitney at 14,484 feet (4,415 m); Germany's is Zugspitze at 9,718 feet (2,962 m).
- Mount Whitney is 4,766 feet higher than Zugspitze.
Lowest point
- California's lowest point is Death Valley at -279 feet; Germany's is Neuendorf-Sachsenbande at -13 feet.
- California's lowest point is 266 feet lower.
California vs Germany Population and History
Population
- California has a population of 39,431,263 (2024), while Germany has 83,467,117 (2025).
- Germany's population is 2.1 times (112%) larger than California's.
Population density
- California: 253.0 people per square mile vs Germany: 620.0.
- Germany's population density is 2.5 times (145%) higher than California's.
Biggest city
- California's biggest city is Los Angeles with 3,878,704 people; Germany's is Berlin with 3,878,100.
- Los Angeles and Berlin have about the same population.
Largest metro area
- California's largest metropolitan area is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area (12,927,614 people) vs Germany's Berlin metropolitan region (6,200,000).
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area's population is 2.1 times (109%) larger than Berlin metropolitan region's.
History
- California: Admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850, as the 31st state.
- Germany: Unified on January 18, 1871; the current Federal Republic dates from 1949, reunified in 1990.
- In its current form, California is the older of the two by 21 years.
California vs Germany Economy
GDP
- California's GDP is $4,048.1 billion (2024) vs Germany's $5,050.9 billion.
- Germany's economic output is 1.2 times (25%) larger than California's.
GDP per capita
- California: $102,662 per person vs Germany: $60,496.
- California's GDP per capita is 1.7 times (70%) higher than Germany's.
Average income
- California: $86,232 vs Germany: $60,200 average income per person (per capita personal income).
- California's average income is 1.4 times (43%) higher than Germany's.
Official Websites
California official website · Germany official website
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More Size Comparisons
All California size comparisons · All Germany size comparisons
Area, elevation and boundary figures come from official national statistics and US Census Bureau and Natural Earth boundary data; US state population, economic, county and tax figures come from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Tax Foundation. Figures are rounded and for general reference.