Auckland
559 km²
Sydney
12,368 km²
New Zealand
Australia
Area Comparison
Auckland is 22.1x smaller than Sydney
Population Comparison
Auckland has 3.6x fewer people than Sydney
Sydney is significantly larger, covering 22.1 times the area of Auckland. Sydney spans 12,368 km² (4,775 mi²) while Auckland covers 559 km² (216 mi²) — a difference of 11,809 km². You could fit Auckland inside Sydney approximately 22 times.
To put Auckland's size in perspective, its area of 559 km² is roughly the same size as Seoul. Meanwhile, Sydney at 12,368 km² is about 2.0x the size of Shanghai.
In more relatable units, Auckland's 559 km² is about 78,000 American football fields, 160 times the area of Central Park, or 9 times the area of Manhattan. For Sydney, that's about 1,700,000 American football fields, 120 times the area of Paris, or 100 times the area of San Francisco.
Auckland is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about 1,547,200. It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, and which has a total population of 1,816,000 as of June 2025. It is the most populous city of New Zealand and the fifth-most populous city in Oceania.
Known as "City of Sails", Auckland covers 559 km² with a population of 1.5 million. The city was established in 1840. Auckland is known for Sky Tower, Hauraki Gulf islands, Auckland Harbour Bridge, among other attractions.
Auckland is the most populous city in New Zealand and the fifth-most populous city in all of Oceania.
Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and is the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 kilometres (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Blue Mountains in the west, and about 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and the Hawkesbury River in the north and north-west, to the Royal National Park and Macarthur in the south and south-west.
Nicknamed "Sydneysiders", Sydney has an area of 12,368 km² and is home to 5.3 million people. The city dates back to 1788. Visitors come for Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach, and much more. Getting around is easy with the Sydney Trains.
Sydney stretches roughly 80 km from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Blue Mountains in the west.
Auckland has a population density of 2,630 people per km² — a moderately dense city. Sydney, with 429 people per km², is a low-density, sprawling urban area. Auckland is dramatically more crowded, with 6.1x the population density.
Size Ratio
Auckland fits inside Sydney ~22 times
Density Gap
Auckland is 6.1x more densely populated
Auckland covers 559 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Budapest (525 km²), Mumbai (603 km²), Madrid (604 km²), Warsaw (517 km²), or Seoul (605 km²).
Sydney covers 12,368 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Chengdu (14,378 km²), Xi'an (10,097 km²), Melbourne (9,993 km²), Brisbane (15,826 km²), or Beijing (16,411 km²).
The straight-line distance from Auckland to Sydney is 2,156 km (1,340 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~3h 2m.
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