Africa · True size
🇬🇦 Gabon
2.4×
Gabon is drawn 2.4× smaller on the old map than it really is.
True area
260,719 km²
On the old map
2.4×
drawn smaller than true
Distortion rank
#174
of 176 · 1 = most inflated
Share of world land
0.19%
On the old map
Gabon looks about the same size as Guatemala on the old map — it isn't.
Shapes above: Gabon at the size the old map gives it, next to Guatemala's true size. Gabon's real area is 260,719 km² — Guatemala is 108,521 km².
By area
Gabon is big enough to fit United Kingdom inside it, by area — 239,619 km² combined.
Gabon would fit inside New Zealand, the Philippines and Italy, by area.
How many fit?
United Arab Emirates fits inside Gabon 3.7 times. South Korea fits inside Gabon 2.7 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°. Gabon's middle sits at 1°S, 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 Gabon's whole share of the old map with its real share of the world's land.