United Kingdom on five projections
United Kingdom covers 248,884 km² of ground. Mercator draws it 2.90 times over. Area and shape readings on all five projections, each one measured.
The United Kingdom and Uganda
The United Kingdom covers 248,884 km² and Uganda 246,857 - 0.8 percent apart, among the closest pairs in the catalogue. Ecuador is 1.012 times. Three equal pieces of ground.
The map is out by nearly three times
The UK's anchor is at 53.8° N, where Mercator inflates it 2.90 times; Uganda's is at 1.3° N, where it inflates 1.00. Same ground, nearly three times the drawing. South Sudan and the Central African Republic are 2.5 times the UK's true area and are drawn smaller.
This object
- True area
- 248,884 km²
- Anchor latitude
- 53.8° N
- Angular radius
- 5.0°
- Draggable latitude range
- -81.5° … 80.2°
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?
| Projection | Area distortion | Shape distortion |
|---|---|---|
| Equirectangular | 1.70 | 1.69 |
| Mercator | 2.90 | 1.00 constant |
| Natural Earth | 1.38 | 1.32 |
| Equal Earth | 1.00 constant | 1.36 |
| Gall-Peters | 1.00 constant | 1.43 |
Mercator inflates it most, 2.90 times over. Equirectangular stretches it most: its long axis is 1.69 times its short one.
The same size, drawn otherwise
These are within 5 percent of United Kingdom'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.
- Uganda: Uganda covers 246,838 km²; this covers 248,884. They sit 53 degrees apart in latitude, and Mercator draws one 2.87 times the other.
- Ecuador: Ecuador covers 251,885 km²; this covers 248,884. They sit 52 degrees apart in latitude, and Mercator draws one 2.87 times the other.
- Ghana: Ghana covers 244,492 km²; this covers 248,884. They sit 46 degrees apart in latitude, and Mercator draws one 2.81 times the other.
- Guinea: Guinea covers 240,531 km²; this covers 248,884. They sit 43 degrees apart in latitude, and Mercator draws one 2.77 times the other.
Bigger than the map admits
These cover more ground than United Kingdom and Mercator draws them smaller anyway.
- South Sudan: South Sudan is truly 2.52 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.12 times bigger.
- Central African Republic: Central African Republic is truly 2.51 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.13 times bigger.
- Kenya: Kenya is truly 2.38 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.20 times bigger.
- Botswana: Botswana is truly 2.38 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.03 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 United Kingdom across the latitude bands and the readout follows.