Since we were very young, we have been accustomed to visualizing the world in the form of a planisphere. This "world map" is in the vast majority of cases presented with a Mercator projection. This projection, which has the advantage of preserving the angles and therefore the shapes of the countries, nevertheless has a major drawback (and it is the case to say it). Indeed, it distorts the distances and the areas… As one moves away from the equator, the distortion increases…
You have understood, our vision of the world is based on an imperfect representation of the latter... The real size of countries on a planisphere is in reality difficult to compare!
For example, Greenland seems gigantic at first glance, but in reality its area is slightly smaller than that of Algeria.
So if you want to compare the real size of the countries of the world in a visual and fun way, I can only recommend the site The True Size.
As its name suggests, the vocation of this free site is to allow you to compare the real size of the countries of the world !
Compare several countries with each other with The True Size
When you arrive at this site, the first thing you see is a world's map. At the top left is a field where you can search for the countries you want to compare.
In this field, type the name of the countries (in English) you want to compare and click on the result that appears.
Colored layers will then be superimposed on the selected countries. With your mouse you can click on these layers to move them on the map. The size of the layers will change depending on the proximity to the equator. The closer you get to it, the smaller the size of the country will be.
Also, when you have a country selected, the compass rose (bottom left) will take the color of its layer. By rotating this compass rose, you can rotate the layer to facilitate comparisons of countries with very different shapes!
A “Clear Map” button also allows you to reset the map.
To delete a country layer, simply do a right click above.
Some observations
I really got into the game of this incredible site and I was able to test different things. Here are some observations that surprised or amused me!
The United States (excluding Alaska) is 14 times larger than Metropolitan France. : clearly the USA is bigger than France… but 14 times, that seems enormous!
Chile is such a long country that it measures the same distance as the crossing of the Atlantic between French Guiana and Mauritania…
France is about the same size as Kenya.
Australia is a really big country. ! Its surface covers a very large part of Europe!
And Ukraine in all this? ? So here is the comparison of the Ukraine France size. In the end, we see that the two countries have different shapes but a fairly similar size!
Don't hesitate to do your tests and tell us about your discoveries in the comments below!
Article updated on January 7, 2025 by Byothe
