How big is the Solomon Islands really?
The Solomon Islands covers 28,400 km² (11,000 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 the Solomon Islands 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.
The Solomon Islands in numbers
- The Solomon Islands is the 144th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- Countries of about the same true size: Albania (28,748 km²), Equatorial Guinea (28,051 km²), Burundi (27,834 km²).
- The United Kingdom is 8.5 times the size of the Solomon Islands.
Why the map gets the Solomon Islands wrong
The Solomon Islands lies around 10°S. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.01 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 the Solomon Islands 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