Move the comparison set
Drag any colored country anywhere on the map. The size updates based on its new latitude, just like Mercator does.
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Country Size Comparison
Use the true size map to compare Japan and the United States, then drag each country to see how latitude affects apparent map scale.
Drag any colored country anywhere on the map. The size updates based on its new latitude, just like Mercator does.
True Size Comparison
Use the true size map to compare Japan and the United States, then drag each country to see how latitude affects apparent map scale.
The United States is about 26 times the area of Japan. Moving countries across latitudes shows how Mercator distortion changes their displayed scale.
Use the interactive Mercator map above to move countries away from their original latitude. The shape is repositioned on the same projection so you can see how apparent scale changes in real time.
Traditional world maps often exaggerate high-latitude countries. A true size comparison makes the area relationship clearer than a static Mercator map.
Japan is about 378 thousand square kilometers, while the United States is about 9.83 million square kilometers.
Yes. Select Japan in the comparison set and drag it to another latitude to see how its apparent Mercator scale changes.