How big is Bhutan really?
Bhutan covers 38,394 km² (14,800 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn about 1.27 times bigger than it really is.
See Bhutan at its true size on the map →True size vs the map
Both drawn at the same scale. The map keeps shapes but swells everything away from the equator.
Bhutan in numbers
- Bhutan is the 136th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- Countries of about the same true size: Taiwan (36,193 km²), Guinea-Bissau (36,125 km²), Switzerland (41,291 km²).
- The United Kingdom is 6.3 times the size of Bhutan.
Why the map gets Bhutan wrong
Bhutan lies around 27°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.13 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 1.27 times too big near its middle. Most web maps use this projection because it keeps angles and shapes right for navigation, not because it shows sizes fairly.
In Globegami you can drag a copy of Bhutan anywhere on Earth: it keeps its true size and grows or shrinks on the map as it moves, and you can fold the map back into a globe.
Areas: official totals including inland water (UN Statistics Division via Wikidata). Outlines: Natural Earth. How Globegami works