How big it really is
61.0 km²True area
230 / 242By area
1.15×As Mercator draws it
497,869 timesFits into Africa
17,459People
286People per km²
How Mercator draws it
The middle of Cook Islands is at about 21° 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 1.15× 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:
- San Marino68.0 km²
- Bermuda66.0 km²
- Maldives66.0 km²
- Cook Islands61.0 km²
- Saint Martin49.0 km²
- Guernsey48.0 km²
- Sint Maarten42.0 km²