How big is Poland really?
Poland covers 312,683 km² (121,000 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn about 2.7 times bigger than it really is.
See Poland 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.
Poland in numbers
- Poland is the 71st largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- On the map Poland looks bigger than Zambia, but Zambia is really 2.4 times larger.
- Countries of about the same true size: Oman (309,500 km²), Côte d'Ivoire (322,463 km²), Italy (302,068 km²).
- Poland is about 29% bigger than the United Kingdom.
Why the map gets Poland wrong
Poland lies around 52°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.63 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 2.7 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 Poland 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