How big is Northern Cyprus really?
Northern Cyprus covers 3,470 km² (1,340 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn about 1.5 times bigger than it really is.
See Northern Cyprus 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.
Northern Cyprus in numbers
- Northern Cyprus is the 178th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- Countries of about the same true size: Cabo Verde (4,033 km²), South Georgia (4,066 km²), French Polynesia (4,167 km²).
- The United Kingdom is 70 times the size of Northern Cyprus.
Why the map gets Northern Cyprus wrong
Northern Cyprus lies around 35°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.22 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 1.5 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 Northern Cyprus 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