France on five projections
France covers 643,775 km² of ground. Mercator draws it 1.97 times over. Area and shape readings on all five projections, each one measured.
643,775 km², not 551,000
France here includes French Guiana, which Natural Earth files as part of France, so the area is 643,775 km² rather than the roughly 551,000 of the metropolitan country. It is also why France's spherical centroid lands offshore: Guiana sits on the South American coast, 74 degrees from the rest. Where a centroid falls outside its own shape this site pulls the anchor to the nearest interior point, which is why the drag handle is on land.
The Central African Republic is the same size
The Central African Republic is 0.970 of France's true area and South Sudan 0.975 - three pieces of ground within 3 percent of each other. France anchors at 44.2° N, where Mercator inflates it 1.97 times; the other two sit near the equator and are barely touched. Colombia is truly 1.80 times France and Ethiopia 1.77, and Mercator draws both smaller.
This object
- True area
- 643,775 km²
- Anchor latitude
- 44.2° N
- Angular radius
- 63.1°
- Draggable latitude range
- -83.5° … 78.5°
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?
| Projection | Area distortion | Shape distortion |
|---|---|---|
| Equirectangular | 1.39 | 1.40 |
| Mercator | 1.97 | 1.00 constant |
| Natural Earth | 1.24 | 1.10 |
| Equal Earth | 1.00 constant | 1.07 |
| Gall-Peters | 1.00 constant | 1.03 |
Mercator inflates it most, 1.97 times over. Equirectangular stretches it most: its long axis is 1.40 times its short one.
The same size, drawn otherwise
These are within 5 percent of France'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.
- Central African Republic: Central African Republic covers 624,500 km²; this covers 643,775. They sit 38 degrees apart in latitude, and Mercator draws one 1.92 times the other.
- South Sudan: South Sudan covers 627,559 km²; this covers 643,775. They sit 37 degrees apart in latitude, and Mercator draws one 1.91 times the other.
Bigger than the map admits
These cover more ground than France and Mercator draws them smaller anyway.
- Colombia: Colombia is truly 1.80 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.08 times bigger.
- Ethiopia: Ethiopia is truly 1.77 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.08 times bigger.
- Bolivia: Bolivia is truly 1.69 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.06 times bigger.
- Mauritania: Mauritania is truly 1.64 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.05 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 France across the latitude bands and the readout follows.