How big it really is
10.0 km²True area
240 / 242By area
1.02×As Mercator draws it
3,037,000 timesFits into Africa
11,646People
1,165People per km²
How Mercator draws it
The middle of Tuvalu is at about 9° 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 1.02× 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:
- Saint Barthélemy25.0 km²
- Macao23.0 km²
- Monaco12.0 km²
- Tuvalu10.0 km²
- Ashmore and Cartier Islands3.0 km²
- Vatican1.0 km²