Real World Map
Search for a country and drag it to compare real sizes.
Drag countries together to compare real sizes and see how their outlines change with map position. Select up to 3 countries.
Compare sizes
Web MercatorThe flat comparison map uses Google Maps’ Web Mercator projection: countries appear larger toward the poles. Move and overlap selected outlines at the same latitude to compare their real sizes. Globe mode places the comparison outlines on a sphere; it is not an Equal Earth projection.
On a spherical Mercator map, local area grows by 1 / cos²(latitude). At 60° north or south, a small patch occupies four times the area of an equal patch at the equator. This is a local scale factor, not a multiplier for an entire country: Greenland spans many latitudes. The projection preserves local angles, which helps explain its use in navigation. The trade-off is increasingly inflated area near the poles. A country does not become larger when you move it north; its image does.
Why does Greenland look so large?
Move Greenland toward the equator and watch its outline change. The land stays the same; the map scale does not.
Equal Earth: equal areas, different shapes
Equal Earth preserves relative area, but shapes still change. See what it preserves and when a globe helps.
Why a map outline and an area table disagree
Coastline detail, inland water and territorial definitions can change what an area figure means. Read the definition before the decimal places.