How big is Burkina Faso really?
Burkina Faso covers 274,200 km² (106,000 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn close to its true size: it lies near the equator, where the usual world map stretches little.
See Burkina Faso 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.
Burkina Faso in numbers
- Burkina Faso is the 74th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- Countries of about the same true size: New Zealand (268,021 km²), Gabon (267,667 km²), Ecuador (257,204 km²).
- Burkina Faso is about 13% bigger than the United Kingdom.
Why the map gets Burkina Faso wrong
Burkina Faso lies around 12°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.02 times in every direction, which barely changes its size. 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 Burkina Faso 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