Oceania · True size
🇦🇺 Australia
1.9×
Australia is drawn 1.9× smaller on the old map than it really is.
True area
7,706,123 km²
On the old map
1.9×
drawn smaller than true
Distortion rank
#85
of 176 · 1 = most inflated
Share of world land
5.74%
On the old map
Australia looks about the same size as India on the old map — it isn't.
Shapes above: Australia at the size the old map gives it, next to India's true size. Australia's real area is 7,706,123 km² — India is 3,155,854 km².
By area
Australia is big enough to fit India, Argentina and Libya inside it, by area — 7,564,991 km² combined.
Australia would fit inside Brazil, China and the United States, by area.
How many fit?
The United Kingdom fits inside Australia 32 times. United Arab Emirates fits inside Australia 108 times.
Why the old map gets it wrong
The old map stretches land more the further it is from the equator — twice the area at 45°, four times at 60°. Australia's middle sits at 26°S, where the stretch is about 1.2×.
Area stretch on the old map at each latitude, equator to 80°. The number at the top of this page compares Australia's whole share of the old map with its real share of the world's land.