How many United Kingdoms fit in United States?
38 United Kingdoms fit in United States.
- Really
- 38
- As Mercator draws it
- 30
Mercator makes it look like only 30, fewer than the 38 that really fit. This time the container is the one nearer the equator, and so the one inflated less.
Why the two differ
Mercator draws United Kingdom 2.90 times its true area and United States 2.30 times. The count is the ratio of the two, so what moves it is not the inflation itself but the ratio between the two inflations. Whichever sits closer to a pole is blown up more.
- Ruler
- United Kingdom 248,884 km²
- Container
- United States 9,493,296 km²
On an equal-area projection
Under Equal Earth or Gall-Peters the two figures are identical - for every pair on this site. An equal-area projection draws in proportion to true area, so the count you can see is the count there is. That is a definition, not a coincidence.