drawamap

The true size of countries

Map projections distort area. Drag a country toward the equator to see its real size, or switch to Equal Earth where every area is true.

Ready-made comparisons

FAQ

Why do countries look the wrong size on maps?
Most web maps use the Mercator projection. It keeps shapes right locally but stretches areas more and more toward the poles, so Greenland, Canada and Russia look far bigger than they are.
What is Equal Earth?
An equal-area projection from 2018. Every country shows its true area relative to the others, at the cost of some shape distortion near the edges.
How does dragging work?
Shapes are moved across the globe, not just across the flat map. On Mercator they grow as you drag them north or south, which shows how much the map inflates that latitude.
How accurate are the areas?
Outlines are simplified world borders from Natural Earth, so areas are close estimates (within a few percent), fine for comparisons.

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