How big is Fiji really?
Fiji covers 18,274 km² (7,060 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 Fiji 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.
Fiji in numbers
- Fiji is the 156th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- Countries of about the same true size: New Caledonia (18,576 km²), Kuwait (17,818 km²), Eswatini (17,364 km²).
- The United Kingdom is 13 times the size of Fiji.
Why the map gets Fiji wrong
Fiji lies around 18°S. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.05 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 1.1 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 Fiji 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