how big did ff11 area grow before and after all the expansion?

[Teslo]

Original FFXI was, unless I'm mistaken, Sarutabaruta (Windurst), Gustaberg (Bastok), Ronfaure (San d'Oria), Derfland (Bastok-Jeuno), Norvallen (San d'Oria-Jeuno), Aragoneu (Windurst-Jeuno), Zulkheim (Valkum Dunes/Selbina), Kolshushu (Buburimu Peninsula/Mhaura). I believe even non-expansion areas like Vauldeaunia (Xarcabard) came later.

Beaucedine and Xarcabard/Castle Zvhal were non-expansion zones. The Shadow Lord was original non-expansion end boss, which is why it was level capped at 50. Much like XIV, the original level cap in XI was also 50. :P

I like big zones (and I cannot lie...) because it makes a world actually feel like a world. I think if the regions were non-instanced it would go a long way towards making the game feel bigger, even though it really wouldn't be. Also a few less aetherytes would help with that. I'm not saying it should go back to FFXI standards where it could literally take you 30 minutes to get from one place to another, but a trek from a city to a remote outpost should take longer than the 5 seconds it takes to warp there.

[Conradus]

Beaucedine and Xarcabard/Castle Zvhal were non-expansion zones. The Shadow Lord was original non-expansion end boss, which is why it was level capped at 50. Much like XIV, the original level cap in XI was also 50. :P

Yes, I said they weren't expansion zones. But they weren't there in the beginning. The Shadow Lord is the original non-expansion end boss, but he wasn't there on release. I believe you could only get to rank 5 on release; the rest of the content wasn't there yet.

[kyuven]

XI is big. Too big. People say "Oh it's so nice and big with plenty of places to go and explore!"
Yeah.
That's great.
The first time.
What they don't tell you, is that many of those areas are locked using the most obtuse and annoying keying methods around. They actually added a bunch of Home Points and Survival Guides (think mini-aetherytes scattered around the world) because it was so incredibly tedious to get to a locked area and die, and have to run back through the locked doors AGAIN.
Moreover, many quests had you returning to the same place over and over. Delkfutt's tower was central to at least 3 different pieces of content, and if it weren't for the survival guides and elevator keys, it'd be a MAJOR chore to return to over and over and over and over and over again. Norg was equally monstrous to have to return to, and it was central to the Samurai and Ninja job quests.
The game is a perfect example of why having no fast travel was a horrible idea. The game with these options still feels very big, with lots of exploration you have to do, but at the same time it doesn't get tedious having to return to the same places over and over again.
It's also an example of why having a whole bunch of huge zones isn't necessarily a good idea. There are some zones in that game that get NO visitors except those passing through for other quests. Hell, there's at least one whole dungeon whose only real purpose is as a "gateway" to a couple of boss fights/raids! The vast majority were abandoned as soon as new content came around, with no concrete reason to ever return.
"Tons of big huge zones" sounds great on paper, but in practice WILL lead to waste-of-space abandoned content.

Yes, I said they weren't expansion zones. But they weren't there in the beginning. The Shadow Lord is the original non-expansion end boss, but he wasn't there on release. I believe you could only get to rank 5 on release; the rest of the content wasn't there yet.

This is all irrelevant as NA players didn't get the game until after RoZ :P

The teleport system had nothing to do with XI's size. XI was just... Plain massive. Even on a chocobo it took time running from one end of the map to another. Each zone had some unique flavors to it to boot (still remember that giant skeleton in that one zone, even if I don't know its name.) and there was danger in many zones that made you have to think before running through.

From a world building standpoint, XI was better. But XIV has good potential - and I'm excited to see if SE can do something amazing.

And danger that made running through the zone for the umpteenth time a tedious chore. "Challenge" is only "challenging" if you don't have to do it 40,000,000 times. Then it's tedious.
Now, Exploration is STILL a thing. You don't walk into a zone and instantly get all the HPs and SGs, you have to actually find them. It rewards exploration, but doesn't make it tedious.
Also you mention chocobos...Chocobos took the challenge out since mobs wouldn't attack you while riding. Though it took a MONTH in real time to raise one for your own use.