How big is International Space Station?
International Space Station: 73 m (240 ft). Measured as length — length of the pressurised modules.
Source: Wikipedia — International Space Station
Where it sits
Among the 14 vehicles & ships on this page International Space Station ranks 8th from the top by size. The largest in the group is Emma Maersk at 397 m, which is 5.44× the size of International Space Station, while the smallest, Tesla Model 3, is 4.69 m.
Stand an adult of 1.7 m beside it and the ratio is 42.9×: you would need 42 people stacked head to foot to match its size.
In everyday distances
It fits inside a football pitch 1.4 times over — a pitch is about 105 m and International Space Station is only 73 m.
Walking at an easy 1.4 m/s you cover 73 m in 52 seconds. A jet at 900 km/h covers it in 292 milliseconds.
Next to its neighbours in size
The nearest thing larger than it in this collection is Boeing 747-8 at 76.3 m (250 ft), 1.05× the size. Both figures are the same kind of measurement, so the gap is a fair one.
The nearest thing smaller is Airbus A380 at 72.7 m (239 ft), so International Space Station is 1× as big as it. They sit in the same group.
Against fixed yardsticks
Against three fixed yardsticks — Eiffel Tower (330 m) is 4.52× the size of International Space Station; International Space Station is 2.44× the size of blue whale (29.9 m); Earth (12,742 km) is 174,548× the size of International Space Station.
How this figure was taken
Vehicles are listed by overall length. Rockets are the exception and are given as full stack height standing on the pad. Everything is drawn standing upright so one scale holds.
How the sizes are taken. Each figure says what it measures — height, length, diameter or elevation — and for which individual or convention. Everything is drawn standing upright on one baseline so a single scale holds, including things that are long rather than tall. Values come from the linked Wikipedia article for each item.
Read the rest — common questions
How big is the International Space Station?
73 m (240 ft), measured as length: length of the pressurised modules.
Where does the International Space Station rank among vehicles & ships?
Number 8 of 14 on this site, from Emma Maersk at 397 m down to Tesla Model 3 at 4.69 m.
What is the next size up?
Boeing 747-8, at 76.3 m, is 1.05× the size.
What is the next size down?
Airbus A380, at 72.7 m, is 1× smaller.
How reliable is the figure?
It is taken from the cited Wikipedia article and states its basis (length of the pressurised modules). Values are rounded, and where individuals differ the figure is a representative one, so expect small differences from other sources.