Why borders and areas differ
A coastline has bays and islands that disappear as a map is simplified. The atlas uses Natural Earth boundaries at 1:110 million; tiny islands may not appear. Selected areas are calculated from these simplified spherical shapes. Official figures may count water or territories differently. The ≈ symbol is a reminder to treat this display as an estimate.
Areas are estimates from the displayed boundaries. Sources may include water and territories differently.
Open the map →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.