How big is Alaska?

[Jim Wilke]

Real big:






You can play around and put other states in there.

http://www.alaska.org/how-big-is-alaska/select-a-state

[cdnojibwedude]

How many sub-national units in the world are bigger than Alaska?

[Sleepcheap]

Yeah it's big, but largely uninhabited. Or uninhabitable.

[Sea Fury]

Yeah it's big, but largely uninhabited. Or uninhabitable.

With enough work and the proper equipment, any place is inhabitable.

[NoviVespa]

But that map is before all the ice has melted. In realty, it is much smaller.

[mattbholland]

Don't show this map to Texas residents....lol

[millrace]

But not really that big.

[ensign14]

How many sub-national units in the world are bigger than Alaska?

Yakutia is twice the size. Western Australia just nudges out the krai of Krasnoyarsk for second. Then Greenland (on a technicality - Greenland is subdivided into areas for most purposes), Nunavut and Queensland. And then Alaska.

That does not include claims to Antarctica; taking those into account the biggest sub-national unit in the world is the Australian Antarctic Territory, over three times the size of Alaska. But all claims to Antarctica are in abeyance under the Antarctic Treaty.

Incidentally, 20 of the 21 most populous subdivisions are in India or China, and the other is in Pakistan. England is the 22nd, although it has no administrative existence...

[sightlines]

How many sub-national units in the world are bigger than Alaska?

Quebec is 595,000 sq miles, Alaska 586,000. (edit, seeing conflicting sizes on Alaska, others sources has it as slightly larger than QC)

Nunavut Territory is 708,000 sq miles, So Alaska would be third in North America, the NWT Canada is close behind at 545,000.

According to Wiki, Nunavut is the 5th largest sub-national area in the world.