Argentina on five projections

Argentina covers 2,784,381 km² of ground. Mercator draws it 1.55 times over. Area and shape readings on all five projections, each one measured.

This object

True area
2,784,381 km²
Anchor latitude
34.7° S
Angular radius
20.5°
Draggable latitude range
-64.6° … 72.3°

On five projections

Each number is measured against its own projection's equator, not against another projection. These five rows do not share an axis - they are five answers to the same question: what did this map give up to lay this place flat?

ProjectionArea distortionShape distortion
Equirectangular1.241.22
Mercator1.551.00 constant
Natural Earth1.161.21
Equal Earth1.00 constant1.33
Gall-Peters1.00 constant1.35

Mercator inflates it most, 1.55 times over. Gall-Peters stretches it most: its long axis is 1.35 times its short one.

The same size, drawn otherwise

Nothing in the catalogue is close to Argentina's area at a far enough latitude to be worth the comparison.

Bigger than the map admits

These cover more ground than Argentina and Mercator draws them smaller anyway.

  • India: India is truly 1.13 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.11 times bigger.

On an equal-area projection this section is empty, for every object there is. An equal-area map draws in proportion to true area, so it cannot draw a larger thing smaller. That is a definition, not a coincidence.

Open it in the tool

Drag Argentina across the latitude bands and the readout follows.