How big is Zambia really?
Zambia covers 752,618 km² (291,000 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 Zambia 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.
Zambia in numbers
- Zambia is the 39th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- Countries of about the same true size: Chile (756,102 km²), Turkey (783,562 km²), Mozambique (801,590 km²).
- Zambia is 3.1 times the size of the United Kingdom.
Why the map gets Zambia wrong
Zambia lies around 13°S. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.03 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 Zambia 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