Put familiar places in proportion.
Eight comparisons that reveal how latitude, islands and geographic scope can mislead our sense of size.
Africa vs Greenland: a fourteenfold difference
Africa has about 14 times Greenland's area. Compare their Equal Earth outlines and see how latitude, ice cover and shared map scales affect this familiar view.
Australia vs the United States: which United States?
Compare Australia and the United States on Equal Earth. See why including Alaska and Hawaii changes the area ratio and how each geographic scope is defined.
Canada vs Africa: lakes, islands and a three-to-one gap
Africa has about three times Canada's area in this map model. Canada's lakes, Arctic islands and northern latitude explain the common sources of confusion.
Europe vs Africa: drawing the edge of a continent
Compare Europe and Africa on Equal Earth, with consistent area figures. Learn how continental boundaries, transcontinental countries and islands affect scope.
Japan vs Germany: close in area, far apart in shape
Compare Japan and Germany on Equal Earth: similar areas, different coastlines and terrain. View shared-scale outlines and check the geographic model used.
Metropolitan France vs Spain: a small gap with a precise label
Compare metropolitan France and Spain on Equal Earth. See why Corsica, overseas regions and Spanish islands matter when defining each country's area.
Russia vs Africa: width is only half the picture
Africa has about 1.78 times Russia's area in this model. Explore Russia's east-west reach, the map seam in its far east and its high-latitude enlargement.
United Kingdom vs Japan: look beyond the largest island
Japan has about 1.56 times the UK's area. Compare the complete countries, distinguish Great Britain from the UK, and look beyond the largest islands.
Choose your own pair
The featured guides each answer a particular question. Each guide includes a shared-scale comparison where you can choose two supported places, swap them and change units. On the world map, select a country and create a movable copy to explore how a projection changes its appearance across latitudes.
Every comparison uses the same spherical area model. The numbers describe the included boundary geometry. They are not a mixed ranking of official surface areas, land areas and national claims.
Sources & further reading
Map calculations use the fixed dataset described in our methodology.