The True Size

In the 16th century cartographer Gerardus Mercator invented a way to morph the globe into a 2D map. Despite the Mercator projection is still used on literally every map you see it doesn't represent the real size of every country. It exaggerates the size of countries nearer the poles, while downplaying the size of those near the equator.

Just imagine a common map in front of you. Comparing the size of Greenland and the size of Africa lets you think they are about the same size, while actually Africa (11.6 million sq. miles) is nearly 14 times larger than Greenland (0.8 million sq. miles).

There is where this free and easy to use tool comes in hand. Just open their website tip in a country name and the boarders of this country will get highlighted and you are able to drag it on other countries to compare there size. Believe me this will not only astonish children.