Kazakhstan on five projections

Kazakhstan covers 2,721,021 km² of ground. Mercator draws it 2.26 times over. Area and shape readings on all five projections, each one measured.

This object

True area
2,721,021 km²
Anchor latitude
48.4° N
Angular radius
13.7°
Draggable latitude range
-77.4° … 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
Equirectangular1.501.51
Mercator2.261.00 constant
Natural Earth1.301.38
Equal Earth1.00 constant1.51
Gall-Peters1.00 constant1.13

Mercator inflates it most, 2.26 times over. Equirectangular stretches it most: its long axis is 1.51 times its short one.

The same size, drawn otherwise

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

Bigger than the map admits

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

  • India: India is truly 1.16 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.66 times bigger.
  • Argentina: Argentina is truly 1.02 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.50 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 Kazakhstan across the latitude bands and the readout follows.