How big is Finland really?
Finland covers 338,478 km² (131,000 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn about 5.5 times bigger than it really is.
See Finland 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.
Finland in numbers
- Finland is the 67th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- On the map Finland looks bigger than Peru, but Peru is really 3.8 times larger.
- Countries of about the same true size: Congo (342,000 km²), Philippines (343,448 km²), Vietnam (331,690 km²).
- Finland is about 40% bigger than the United Kingdom.
Why the map gets Finland wrong
Finland lies around 64°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 2.3 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 5.3 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 Finland 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.
Compare Finland
Areas: official totals including inland water (UN Statistics Division via Wikidata). Outlines: Natural Earth. How Globegami works