The true size of countries
Drag any country across the map and see how big it really is. Greenland next to Africa, Russia at the equator, Australia over Europe.
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Pick a country above, or tap one on the map, then drag it. As it moves towards the equator it shrinks on this map; towards the poles it grows. Its real size never changes: the map is what stretches.
Questions people ask
Why does Greenland look so big on most maps?
Most world maps use the Mercator projection, invented in 1569 for sailors because it keeps compass directions straight. To do that it stretches everything away from the equator: Greenland looks about as big as Africa, though Africa is roughly fourteen times larger.
Which map shows true sizes?
Equal-area projections, such as the Equal Earth or Mollweide maps, keep every country's area correct, at the cost of bending shapes near the edges. No flat map can keep both shapes and sizes right everywhere.
How are the areas worked out?
From each country's outline on a globe, using simplified Natural Earth shapes, so the figures are close to, but not exactly, the official areas.
Country shapes: Natural Earth (public domain), simplified. Areas are calculated by Sureno from these shapes.