How big is Malawi really?
Malawi covers 118,484 km² (45,700 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 Malawi 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.
Malawi in numbers
- Malawi is the 100th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- Countries of about the same true size: Eritrea (117,600 km²), Nicaragua (120,340 km²), North Korea (120,540 km²).
- The United Kingdom is 2 times the size of Malawi.
Why the map gets Malawi wrong
Malawi lies around 13°S. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.03 times in every direction, which barely changes its size. 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 Malawi 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