Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) vs Statue of Liberty
Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) (96 m) is 1.03× the size of Statue of Liberty (93 m).
Statue of Liberty is 97% of the height of Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower). The gap between them is 3 m (9.84 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) | 96 m | 315 ft | height |
| Statue of Liberty | 93 m | 305 ft | height |
What the scale shows
Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) (96 m) is 1.03× the size of Statue of Liberty (93 m). The gap between them is 3 m (9.84 ft). Both are buildings & towers, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 97% of the frame while the larger one runs to the top. The two are close enough that the difference is easy to see side by side.
Read the rest — 8 more sections
What each figure means
The figure for Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) is its height (tower height). The figure for Statue of Liberty is its height (from the ground to the tip of the torch).
Crossing them
Walking pace is 1.4 m/s, so crossing Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower)'s 96 m takes 69 seconds and Statue of Liberty's 93 m takes 66 seconds.
In people: Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) is 56 adults of 1.7 m tall, Statue of Liberty is 54.7. By size Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) is 20th of the 23 buildings & towers on this site and Statue of Liberty is 21st, so 1 place separates them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) is given as a height, tower height. The Statue of Liberty is given as a height, from the ground to the tip of the torch. Both are height figures, so putting them on one baseline is a like-for-like comparison, although the exact individual or convention still matters.
Building heights depend on the rule used: architectural height counts spires but not antennas, tip height counts everything. The basis is named with each figure.
Where the pair sits among all the sizes here
Across all 86 things on this site, Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) is number 52 from the top and the Statue of Liberty is number 53. No other item falls between them, so in this collection they are direct neighbours.
Because the collection spans 13 mm up to 1,392,700 km, a ratio of 107,130,769,231× from smallest to largest, the position of a pair says a lot: the pair sits in the middle of the range rather than at an extreme.
What the length ratio hides
A length ratio of 1.03× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) would have about 1.07× the surface or footprint of the Statue of Liberty, and about 1.1× the volume. These two are not the same shape, so treat the figures as an upper bound for an imaginary scaled copy, not as a measurement of either one.
The drawing above shows length only. The Statue of Liberty is drawn 97% as tall as Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower), but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 93.8%, which is why the smaller one looks even slighter than the numbers alone suggest.
Time to cross each one
A sprinter holding about 10 m/s covers Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) in 9.6 seconds and the Statue of Liberty in 9.3 seconds. Sound, at about 343 m/s in air, takes 280 milliseconds for the larger and 271 milliseconds for the smaller. A jet cruising at 900 km/h needs 384 milliseconds and 372 milliseconds.
These times assume a straight line and constant speed, which no real crossing has, but they turn a number in metres into something the body understands. At any fixed speed the travel times keep the same 1.03× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) measures 96 m, which is 315 ft or 105 yards. The Statue of Liberty measures 93 m, which is 305 ft.
The difference between them is 3 m (9.84 ft). In metres the smaller one is 93 against 96, so the 1.03× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) or the Statue of Liberty?
Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) is bigger. At 96 m it is 1.03× the size of the Statue of Liberty, which is 93 m.
How many times does the Statue of Liberty fit along Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower)?
Less than twice: the Statue of Liberty is 97% of the size of Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower), so one fits with 3 m to spare.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are height figures. Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) is tower height; the Statue of Liberty is from the ground to the tip of the torch.
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) is about 56 people tall and the Statue of Liberty is about 54.7. The gap of 3 m is 1.8 people.
Where do the numbers come from?
Each item has its own page that names the measurement and links to the Wikipedia article it was taken from. Some figures are rounded, and animals vary from one individual to the next, so treat them as representative values rather than records for every case.
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.