PLEN
02Act II · 1:1 studio

Which is bigger: Poland or Africa?

Africa is larger: 30,370,000 km² (editorial estimate) versus 312,679 km² for Poland, about 97 times the area.

Both areas at the same scale: Poland and Africa. Drag the outlines, separate them and see what the Mercator map hides.

True-size comparison

Same scale. Real difference.

Drag the outlines to overlap them, or place them side by side.

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Africa

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Total surface area30,370,000 km²editorial estimate
Population1,400,000,000editorial estimate
TypeContinent
03 · Verdict

What the map gets wrong

True area tells a different story than the Mercator map.

True area ratio97.1×Larger in reality: Africa.
Mercator: estimate at the area’s center37.1×Looks larger on a Mercator map: Africa.
Why does this happen?

The Mercator projection enlarges areas more and more the farther they lie from the equator. The centers of the two areas lie about 52° (Poland) and 6° (Africa) from the equator. An estimate based on each center’s latitude gives an area ratio of 37.1 : 1, compared with the real ratio of 97.1 : 1. This is not a measurement of the entire outlines on a Mercator map.

Tip: You can also compare these items dynamically by clicking the link below and dragging them directly across the global interactive map.

At least one value represents a continent and comes from an older editorial dataset. Treat the result as an approximation. The overlay uses an equal-area projection. Coastal outlines are simplified and do not include all waters counted in the statistics. Their area ratio can therefore differ from the ratio of official total areas. Geometry: Natural Earth, public domain. Read the methodology ↗

Go to interactive map ↗Back to comparison tool ＋

Why do Poland and Africa look different on a Mercator map than in reality?

The Mercator projection preserves angles, which makes it useful for navigation, but it enlarges areas more and more the farther they lie from the equator. At 60° latitude, areas already appear four times larger than at the equator. A same-scale comparison like the one on this page greatly reduces that distortion.