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The map is lying about size.

Every place drawn to true scale, side by side, with numbers you can check: 245 countries and territories, 6,523 ready comparisons.

Compare any two places

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Pick your kind of surprise

From everyday to wild, each one at true scale.

  1. Everyday
    1.04×Japan is 1.04× the size of Germany.
  2. Looks wrong
    6.90×On a web map Greenland looks 6.90× bigger than India. It isn’t.
  3. Roomy
    14×Ireland fits into British Columbia about 14 times.
  4. Uncanny
    ±0.5%Minas Gerais and Kenya are the same size, give or take 0.5%.
  5. Across the world
    ±0.5%Northern Territory and Northwest Territories differ by less than 0.5% in area.
  6. Wild
    2,080×On the same ground, Sichuan holds 2,080× the people of Yukon.
  7. Impossible92%Eleven countries add up to 92% of Africa. They still don’t fit.
  8. Yours?Pick any two places and lay them over each other.

Do you trust the map?

On a web map, Greenland looks far bigger than India. Is it? Make your guess, then watch it at true size.

Greenlanddrawn about 11.9× too large2,154,000 km², true size. The faint outline is how a web map draws it.
Indiadrawn about 1.2× too large3,151,000 km², true size

On a web map, Greenland looks 6.90× bigger than India.At true size, India is 1.46× bigger than Greenland.

    Which one is really bigger?

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    Fit the world into Africa ↓

    Drag the world into Africa

    Africa is bigger than anyone’s mental map of it. These 11 countries cover 27,544,000 km² between them; Africa covers 29,888,000 km². By area they all fit, with room to spare. Real outlines do not pack that neatly, so how much of Africa can you cover?

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    How much of Africa will these 11 cover? Tap your guess, then drag.

    Loading the outlines…

    Looks bigger on the map. Isn’t.

    A web map stretches everything away from the equator. These are the biggest reversals among well-known places.

    Greenland vs IndiaLooks 6.9× bigger. Is 0.68× its size.
    Greenland vs Democratic Republic of the CongoLooks 11.0× bigger. Is 0.93× its size.
    Sweden vs KenyaLooks 3.5× bigger. Is 0.76× its size.
    United Kingdom vs PhilippinesLooks 2.3× bigger. Is 0.83× its size.
    United Kingdom vs Ivory CoastLooks 2.2× bigger. Is 0.76× its size.
    Mongolia vs IndonesiaLooks 1.8× bigger. Is 0.83× its size.

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    AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaAsiaSouth AmericaOceaniaAll 245 places

    Numbers you can check

    • 245places measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from full-detail outlines
    • 138of 244 agree with Wikidata’s official area within 2%. The rest show the difference
    • 6,523comparisons, each with what the web map gets wrong

    How we measure

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