How big is Israel really?
Israel covers 20,770 km² (8,020 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn about 1.37 times bigger than it really is.
See Israel 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.
Israel in numbers
- Israel is the 153rd largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- On the map Israel looks bigger than Equatorial Guinea, but Equatorial Guinea is really 1.35 times larger.
- Countries of about the same true size: El Salvador (21,041 km²), Slovenia (20,271 km²), Belize (22,966 km²).
- The United Kingdom is 12 times the size of Israel.
Why the map gets Israel wrong
Israel lies around 31°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.17 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 1.37 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 Israel 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