Bosnia and Herzegovina on five projections

Bosnia and Herzegovina covers 50,514 km² of ground. Mercator draws it 1.94 times over. Area and shape readings on all five projections, each one measured.

This object

True area
50,514 km²
Anchor latitude
44.2° N
Angular radius
1.7°
Draggable latitude range
-83.6° … 84.0°

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
Equirectangular1.391.39
Mercator1.941.00 constant
Natural Earth1.251.13
Equal Earth1.00 constant1.12
Gall-Peters1.00 constant1.03

Mercator inflates it most, 1.94 times over. Equirectangular stretches it most: its long axis is 1.39 times its short one.

The same size, drawn otherwise

These are within 5 percent of Bosnia and Herzegovina's true area, and sit at a very different latitude. It is a fact about the Earth, and it is interesting because most projections disagree with it.

  • Dominican Republic: Dominican Republic covers 48,291 km²; this covers 50,514. They sit 25 degrees apart in latitude, and Mercator draws one 1.74 times the other.

Bigger than the map admits

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

  • United Arab Emirates: United Arab Emirates is truly 1.59 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.02 times bigger.
  • Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone is truly 1.51 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.26 times bigger.
  • Panama: Panama is truly 1.50 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.27 times bigger.
  • Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka is truly 1.30 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.47 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 Bosnia and Herzegovina across the latitude bands and the readout follows.