How big is Jamaica really?

Jamaica covers 10,992 km² (4,240 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 Jamaica 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.

Jamaica in numbers

Jamaica is the 166th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
Countries of about the same true size: Kosovo (10,887 km²), Gambia (11,300 km²), Lebanon (10,452 km²).
The United Kingdom is 22 times the size of Jamaica.

Why the map gets Jamaica wrong

Jamaica lies around 18°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.05 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 1.11 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 Jamaica 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