Earth’s oceans
Earth’s oceans are the interconnected bodies of salt water that cover most of the planet’s surface.
1.338 × 10⁹ km³VolumeEveryday quantities
Earth’s oceans vs All Earth’s water
What are they, and what does the difference actually look like?
Two things. One honest scale.
Meet the pair
What these two things are
All Earth’s water
All Earth’s water includes the combined total of water in oceans, ice, groundwater, lakes, rivers and the atmosphere.
1.386 × 10⁹ km³VolumeAll Earth’s water has about 1.04 times the volume of Earth’s oceans.
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Earth’s oceans1.338 × 10⁹ km³Volume
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All Earth’s water1.386 × 10⁹ km³Volume
These are equal-volume cubes. Edge lengths grow with the cube root of capacity; the cubes do not depict container exteriors.
Measurements, assumptions & sources +
Earth’s oceans
Estimated total ocean-water volume: 1.338 billion cubic kilometres. The diagram compares water volume, not ocean depth or surface area.
USGS — How much natural water is there?
The marked volume is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.
All Earth’s water
An estimate including oceans, ice, groundwater and other water stores. It is slightly larger than the ocean-only volume.
USGS — How much natural water is there?
The marked volume is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.
Change the comparison
Put something else beside it.
Measurement details
Why these numbers?
The visual compares volume with volume. The records below preserve each value’s basis and caveats.
Earth’s oceans
1.338 × 10⁹ km³Volume · estimated
Estimated total ocean-water volume: 1.338 billion cubic kilometres. The diagram compares water volume, not ocean depth or surface area.
All Earth’s water
1.386 × 10⁹ km³Volume · estimated
An estimate including oceans, ice, groundwater and other water stores. It is slightly larger than the ocean-only volume.
- Comparing
- Volume ↔ Volume
- Relative size
- All Earth’s water is larger on this measurement by a factor of about 1.04. All Earth’s water's selected measurement is approximately 3.59% greater than Earth’s oceans's.
How to read the visual
The labelled spans and stored measurements determine the scale; unmeasured illustration details do not.
- Earth’s oceans is labelled estimated; treat the displayed value as a comparison anchor rather than false precision.
- All Earth’s water is labelled estimated; treat the displayed value as a comparison anchor rather than false precision.
There’s always another scale
Follow your curiosity.
PlacesEarth’s oceans1.338 × 10⁹ km³Earth’s oceans are the interconnected bodies of salt water that cover most of the planet’s surface.PlacesAll Earth’s water1.386 × 10⁹ km³All Earth’s water includes the combined total of water in oceans, ice, groundwater, lakes, rivers and the atmosphere.
SpaceEarth12,740 kmEarth is the rocky planet on which we live and the third planet from the Sun.
Sport50 m swimming pool50 mA 50 m swimming pool is a large pool built for competitive swimming events, including international competitions.
PlacesA cubic-kilometre lake1 km³A cubic-kilometre lake is a hypothetical body of freshwater defined as containing exactly one cubic kilometre of water.Side by side
Another point of view.
