How big it really is
620,992 km²True area · 239,766 square miles
45 / 242By area
1.01×As Mercator draws it
49 timesFits into Africa
4,745,185People
7.6People per km²
How Mercator draws it
The middle of Central African Republic is at about 7° N. 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 1.01× 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:
- Afghanistan642,052 km²
- France635,054 km²
- South Sudan623,981 km²
- Central African Republic620,992 km²
- Kenya594,843 km²
- Madagascar594,607 km²
- Morocco582,430 km²