See the true size of countries
The world map you grew up with lies about size. The Mercator projection, used by most web maps, has to stretch the round Earth onto a flat rectangle, and it does that by inflating everything the farther it sits from the equator. That's why Greenland looks about as big as Africa, Alaska rivals the lower 48 states, and Antarctica becomes an endless strip along the bottom of the map.
This tool undoes the illusion. Search for a country and it appears in color over its real location. Drag it anywhere and it's moved across the globe rather than slid across the screen, so it keeps its true shape and area: pull Greenland down to the equator and it shrinks to roughly the size of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; push Brazil toward the Arctic and it balloons. A dashed outline marks where each country really is.
Add up to six countries to compare, with each one's land area in square kilometers and square miles and a plain-language comparison of the first two. Copy the link to share exactly what you're looking at, or download a PNG with the comparison caption for a lesson, a slide or a post.
Frequently asked questions
Why do world maps distort the size of countries?
Most web maps use the Mercator projection, which keeps shapes and directions correct locally but stretches everything away from the equator. At 60° latitude areas are drawn about 4× too large, and closer to the poles the stretch keeps growing, so countries like Greenland, Canada and Russia look far bigger than they are.
Is Greenland really as big as Africa?
No. Greenland is about 2.2 million km², while Africa is about 30 million km², roughly 14 times larger. Greenland is close in size to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The map above starts with Greenland moved down beside it so you can see the difference.
How is each country's area calculated?
Areas are computed on a sphere from the same simplified country outlines you see on the map, so they can differ from official figures by a few percent. When you drag a country, every point of its outline is rotated across the globe, so its true shape and area stay the same while the Mercator map redraws it larger or smaller for its new latitude.
Can I share my comparison?
Yes. The page address updates as you add and move countries, so the link you copy restores the same countries in the same positions. You can also download the map as a PNG with a size comparison caption.
Is the True Size Map free?
Yes, it's completely free with no account required. If you want to turn the comparison into a video, Mapimator Studio can animate it on a 3D globe, and it's free to start.