Bolivia on five projections

Bolivia covers 1,088,876 km² of ground. Mercator draws it 1.09 times over. Area and shape readings on all five projections, each one measured.

This object

True area
1,088,876 km²
Anchor latitude
16.7° S
Angular radius
7.4°
Draggable latitude range
-79.0° … 78.2°

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
Equirectangular1.051.04
Mercator1.091.00 constant
Natural Earth1.041.16
Equal Earth1.00 constant1.33
Gall-Peters1.00 constant1.83

Mercator inflates it most, 1.09 times over. Gall-Peters stretches it most: its long axis is 1.83 times its short one.

The same size, drawn otherwise

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

Bigger than the map admits

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

  • Colombia: Colombia is truly 1.06 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.02 times bigger.
  • Ethiopia: Ethiopia is truly 1.04 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.02 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 Bolivia across the latitude bands and the readout follows.