How big is Libya really?

Libya covers 1,759,541 km² (679,000 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn about 1.26 times bigger than it really is.

See Libya 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.

Libya in numbers

Libya is the 17th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
Countries of about the same true size: Sudan (1,840,687 km²), Iran (1,648,195 km²), Indonesia (1,904,570 km²).
The United States is 5.6 times the size of Libya.

Why the map gets Libya wrong

Libya lies around 27°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.12 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 1.26 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 Libya 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