Drag any country over another on the map to see its true size, without the Mercator stretch
How to use
Greenland is already placed over Africa. Look at the dashed outline: that is the same country drawn at its real latitude.
Type any country in the search box to add it to the middle of the map.
Drag it anywhere. It grows as you move toward the poles and shrinks toward the equator, because the map stretches, not the country.
Drop it on another country to read both areas and how many times bigger or smaller it is, then share the map with a link.
Why use this tool
True shapes on a round Earth: Countries are moved by rotating them on the globe, not by sliding a flat picture, so their shape and area stay correct wherever you drop them.
Instant size comparison: Drop a country on another and read both areas in km² or square miles, with a plain sentence like Greenland is about the same size as DR Congo.
Up to eight countries at once: Each country gets its own colour and keeps a dashed outline of where it really is.
Ready-made examples: Greenland over Africa, Russia on the equator, the UK over the USA and more, one tap each.
Share the exact map: The link keeps every country and where you put it, so friends open the same comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Greenland look as big as Africa on maps?
Most world maps use the Mercator projection, which keeps shapes correct locally but stretches areas away from the equator. Near Greenland's latitude, land is drawn many times larger than it is. Africa is really about 14 times bigger than Greenland.
How much does Mercator exaggerate size?
The stretch grows with latitude: areas at 45 degrees are drawn twice as large as at the equator, at 60 degrees four times, and at 70 degrees more than eight times.
Are the areas accurate?
Areas are calculated from the country shapes on a spherical Earth. They are usually within a few percent of official figures, which can include or exclude lakes, coastal waters and islands differently.
Why does a country change shape a little when I move it far?
A curved piece of the Earth cannot be flattened without distortion. Moved to a new latitude, the map bends it differently, just as it bends the countries already there.
Can I compare more than two countries?
Yes. Add up to eight, drag each one anywhere, and every country shows how it compares with the one it is over and with the first country on your list.