Africa · True size
🇧🇼 Botswana
2.1×
Botswana is drawn 2.1× smaller on the old map than it really is.
True area
580,631 km²
On the old map
2.1×
drawn smaller than true
Distortion rank
#97
of 176 · 1 = most inflated
Share of world land
0.43%
On the old map
Botswana looks about the same size as Burkina Faso on the old map — it isn't.
Shapes above: Botswana at the size the old map gives it, next to Burkina Faso's true size. Botswana's real area is 580,631 km² — Burkina Faso is 273,694 km².
By area
Botswana is big enough to fit Ukraine inside it, by area — 570,144 km² combined.
Botswana would fit inside Morocco, Kenya and France, by area.
How many fit?
The United Kingdom fits inside Botswana 2.4 times. United Arab Emirates fits inside Botswana 8.1 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°. Botswana's middle sits at 22°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 Botswana's whole share of the old map with its real share of the world's land.