How big it really is
3.0 km²True area
241 / 242By area
1.05×As Mercator draws it
10,123,333 timesFits into Africa
How Mercator draws it
The middle of Ashmore and Cartier Islands is at about 12° S. Mercator stretches each place by the same amount across and up, more the further it is from the equator, so here every area comes out 1.05× its true size.
At the equator nothing is stretched. At 60° north or south, everything is drawn at four times its true area. The poles never fit on the map at all.
Countries about this size
The countries just bigger and just smaller, each at its true area: