Country Size ComparisonD3 · TopoJSON · SVG
India vs United States: True Size Comparison
Drag India or the United States across the map to compare their true area and see how latitude changes apparent scale.
Interactive Mercator map
Move the comparison set
Drag any coloured country north or south. The map reports the projection's apparent scale at the new latitude.
No countries selected yet.
Try moving Greenland toward DR Congo to compare the contrast.
One more perspective
Keep exploring the scale
Every toy changes one assumption. Try another and see what moves.
True Size Comparison
Compare India and United States at true scale
Drag India or the United States across the map to compare their true area and see how latitude changes apparent scale.
The United States is about three times the area of India, but apparent size still changes as each country moves north or south on a Mercator map.
How the map helps
Move the selected countries away from their original latitude. The shapes stay on the same projection so their apparent scale changes in real time.
Why the result can be surprising
Traditional world maps exaggerate high-latitude countries. Moving both places to comparable latitudes makes the area relationship clearer.
FAQ
How large is India compared with the United States?
India is about 3.29 million square kilometers, while the United States is about 9.83 million square kilometers.
Does India get distorted much on Mercator maps?
India is closer to the tropics than many northern countries, so its Mercator distortion is smaller than places near the poles.
Mercator is useful for navigation, but it does not preserve area. The country shapes and fixed area values remain unchanged as you move them.