How big is Spain really?
Spain covers 505,990 km² (195,000 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn about 1.72 times bigger than it really is.
See Spain 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.
Spain in numbers
- Spain is the 51st largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- On the map Spain looks bigger than Zambia, but Zambia is really 1.49 times larger.
- Countries of about the same true size: Thailand (513,120 km²), Turkmenistan (491,210 km²), Cameroon (475,442 km²).
- Spain is 2.1 times the size of the United Kingdom.
Why the map gets Spain wrong
Spain lies around 40°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.31 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 1.72 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 Spain 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 Spain
Areas: official totals including inland water (UN Statistics Division via Wikidata). Outlines: Natural Earth. How Globegami works