Africa · True size
🇪🇹 Ethiopia
2.4×
Ethiopia is drawn 2.4× smaller on the old map than it really is.
True area
1,131,778 km²
On the old map
2.4×
drawn smaller than true
Distortion rank
#148
of 176 · 1 = most inflated
Share of world land
0.84%
On the old map
Ethiopia looks about the same size as Somalia on the old map — it isn't.
Shapes above: Ethiopia at the size the old map gives it, next to Somalia's true size. Ethiopia's real area is 1,131,778 km² — Somalia is 473,629 km².
By area
Ethiopia is big enough to fit Bolivia inside it, by area — 1,090,287 km² combined.
Ethiopia would fit inside Colombia, South Africa and Peru, by area.
How many fit?
The United Kingdom fits inside Ethiopia 4.7 times. United Arab Emirates fits inside Ethiopia 16 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°. Ethiopia's middle sits at 9°N, where the stretch is about 1.0×.
Area stretch on the old map at each latitude, equator to 80°. The number at the top of this page compares Ethiopia's whole share of the old map with its real share of the world's land.