How big is Ethiopia really?
Ethiopia covers 1,104,300 km² (426,000 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 Ethiopia 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.
Ethiopia in numbers
- Ethiopia is the 27th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- Countries of about the same true size: Bolivia (1,098,581 km²), Colombia (1,141,748 km²), Mauritania (1,030,700 km²).
- The United States is 8.9 times the size of Ethiopia.
Why the map gets Ethiopia wrong
Ethiopia lies around 9°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.01 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 Ethiopia 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