How big it really is
2,702 km²True area · 1,043 square miles
179 / 242By area
1.06×As Mercator draws it
11,240 timesFits into Africa
197,097People
72.9People per km²
How Mercator draws it
The middle of Samoa is at about 14° 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 1.06× 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:
- South Georgia3,669 km²
- Cabo Verde3,585 km²
- Northern Cyprus3,471 km²
- Samoa2,702 km²
- French Polynesia2,615 km²
- Luxembourg2,612 km²
- Siachen Glacier2,118 km²