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How does the ocean’s average depth compare with the average elevation of land?

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Map graphic showing the boundaries of the five oceans-Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern-using color-coded regions. Four different map projections are included: North Pole view, South Pole view, International Date Line view, and Greenwich Meridian view, each displaying the oceans' extents around the continents. — ocean Earth's oceans and their marginal seas cover nearly 71 percent of the planet's surface.

The average depth of the world’s oceans is significantly greater than the average elevation of land on Earth. According to hypsometric analysis, the average depth of the global ocean is 3,688 metres (12,100 feet), while the average elevation of the land is 840 metres (2,756 feet).12

These figures are derived from the hypsometric curve, a graph that illustrates the distribution of Earth's surface area relative to elevation and depth. While the highest point on land, Mount Everest, reaches 8,850 metres (29,035 feet), the deepest point in the ocean, located in the Mariana Trench, extends to 11,034 metres (36,201 feet), marking the extreme lower limit of the curve.31