How big is Norway really?
Norway covers 385,207 km² (149,000 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn about 9 times bigger than it really is.
See Norway 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.
Norway in numbers
- Norway is the 62nd largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- On the map Norway looks bigger than Algeria, but Algeria is really 6.2 times larger.
- Countries of about the same true size: Zimbabwe (390,757 km²), Japan (377,974 km²), Paraguay (406,756 km²).
- Norway is 1.59 times the size of the United Kingdom.
Why the map gets Norway wrong
Norway lies around 64°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 2.3 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 5.1 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 Norway 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.
Compare Norway
Areas: official totals including inland water (UN Statistics Division via Wikidata). Outlines: Natural Earth. How Globegami works