How big is Oman really?
Oman covers 309,500 km² (119,000 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 Oman 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.
Oman in numbers
- Oman is the 72nd largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- Countries of about the same true size: Poland (312,683 km²), Italy (302,068 km²), Côte d'Ivoire (322,463 km²).
- Oman is about 28% bigger than the United Kingdom.
Why the map gets Oman wrong
Oman lies around 21°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.07 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 1.14 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 Oman 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