How big is Switzerland really?
Switzerland covers 41,291 km² (15,900 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn about 2.1 times bigger than it really is.
See Switzerland 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.
Switzerland in numbers
- Switzerland is the 135th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- On the map Switzerland looks bigger than Panama, but Panama is really 1.8 times larger.
- Countries of about the same true size: Netherlands (42,201 km²), Denmark (42,925 km²), Bhutan (38,394 km²).
- The United Kingdom is 5.9 times the size of Switzerland.
Why the map gets Switzerland wrong
Switzerland lies around 47°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.46 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 2.1 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 Switzerland 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