How big is Iran really?

Iran covers 1,648,195 km² (636,000 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn about 1.42 times bigger than it really is.

See Iran 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.

Iran in numbers

Iran is the 18th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
Countries of about the same true size: Mongolia (1,564,116 km²), Libya (1,759,541 km²), Sudan (1,840,687 km²).
The United States is 6 times the size of Iran.

Why the map gets Iran wrong

Iran lies around 33°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.19 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 1.41 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 Iran 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 Iran

Saudi Arabia vs Iran

Areas: official totals including inland water (UN Statistics Division via Wikidata). Outlines: Natural Earth. How Globegami works