City Map Compare/Buenos Aires vs Santiago
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5 km
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Buenos Aires

203 km²

Santiago

838 km²

Buenos Aires vs Santiago - City Size Comparison

Buenos Aires vs Santiago - City Size Comparison

Buenos Aires

Argentina

Area203 km²
Population3.06M
Density15,074 /km²
Elevation25 m
Metro Pop.15.2M
Founded1536
Climatehumid subtropical
Santiago

Chile

Area838 km²
Population6.26M
Density7,470 /km²
Elevation575 m
Founded1541

Area Comparison

Buenos Aires is 4.1x smaller than Santiago

Population Comparison

Buenos Aires has 2.0x fewer people than Santiago

Is Buenos Aires Bigger Than Santiago?

Santiago is significantly larger, covering 4.1 times the area of Buenos Aires. Santiago spans 838 km² (324 mi²) while Buenos Aires covers 203 km² (78 mi²) — a difference of 635 km². You could fit Buenos Aires inside Santiago approximately 4 times.

To put Buenos Aires's size in perspective, its area of 203 km² is roughly the same size as Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Santiago at 838 km² is roughly the same size as Berlin.

Picture Buenos Aires another way: its area is large enough to fit about 28,000 American football fields, 100 times the area of Monaco, or 60 times the area of Central Park. Santiago, by comparison, equals about 117,000 American football fields, 14 times the area of Manhattan, or 8 times the area of Paris.

About Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− global city, according to the GaWC 2024 ranking. The city proper has a population of 3.1 million and its urban area has a population of 16.7 million, making it the 21st most populous metropolitan area in the world.

Known as "Paris of South America", Buenos Aires covers 203 km² with a population of 3.1 million. The city was established in 1536. Buenos Aires is known for La Boca's Caminito, Recoleta Cemetery, Teatro Colón, among other attractions. The city's main transit system is the Buenos Aires Subte.

Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− global city according to the GaWC 2024 ranking.

About Santiago

Santiago, also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. Located in the Chilean Central Valley within the Santiago Basin, between the Andes to the east and the Chilean Coastal Range to the west, it anchors the Santiago Metropolitan Region and its conurbation of Greater Santiago, which comprises more than forty communes and concentrates over a third of the national population and around 45% of Chile's GDP.

Also known as "Santiago de Chile", Santiago has an area of 838 km² and is home to 6.3 million people. It was established in 1541. Visitors come for Cerro San Cristóbal, Gran Torre Santiago, Plaza de Armas, and much more.

Santiago sits in the Chilean Central Valley between the Andes and the Coastal Range, anchoring over a third of Chile's population.

Population Density

Buenos Aires has a population density of 15,074 people per km² — an extremely dense urban environment. Santiago, with 7,470 people per km², is a densely populated city. Buenos Aires is noticeably denser, packing 2.0 times more people per square kilometer.

Key Differences at a Glance

Size Ratio

Buenos Aires fits inside Santiago ~4 times

Density Gap

Buenos Aires is 2.0x more densely populated

Cities Similar in Size to Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires covers 203 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Helsinki (214 km²), Amsterdam (219 km²), Stockholm (188 km²), Osaka (225 km²), or Boston (232 km²).

Cities Similar in Size to Santiago

Santiago covers 838 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Kyoto (828 km²), Berlin (892 km²), New York (783 km²), Hamburg (755 km²), or Bangalore (741 km²).

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Buenos Aires actually bigger than Santiago?
Santiago is 4.1 times larger than Buenos Aires by area. Santiago covers 838 km² while Buenos Aires spans 203 km², a difference of 635 km².
How many times does Buenos Aires fit inside Santiago?
Buenos Aires (203 km²) fits inside Santiago (838 km²) approximately 4 times. That means Santiago is 4.1x the area of Buenos Aires.
What is the population difference between Buenos Aires and Santiago?
Santiago has approximately 6.3 million people, while Buenos Aires has about 3.1 million. Santiago has 3.2 million more residents.
Which city is more densely populated, Buenos Aires or Santiago?
Buenos Aires is more densely populated with 15,074 people per km², compared to 7,470 people per km².
How does the map comparison work?
Our synchronized map comparison tool displays both cities at the same zoom level. When you zoom in or out on one map, the other automatically adjusts to maintain the same scale, allowing you to directly compare the relative sizes of both cities.
Can I compare other cities?
Yes! Use the city selectors at the top of the page to choose any two cities from our database of 50+ major cities worldwide, or enter custom coordinates for any location.

Distance Between Buenos Aires and Santiago

The straight-line distance from Buenos Aires to Santiago is 1,137 km (707 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~1h 50m.

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