Europe · True size
🇮🇹 Italy
1.3×
Italy is drawn 1.3× smaller on the old map than it really is.
True area
300,272 km²
On the old map
1.3×
drawn smaller than true
Distortion rank
#38
of 176 · 1 = most inflated
Share of world land
0.22%
On the old map
Italy looks about the same size as Romania on the old map — it isn't.
Shapes above: Italy at the size the old map gives it, next to Romania's true size. Italy's real area is 300,272 km² — Romania is 235,756 km².
By area
Italy is big enough to fit Philippines inside it, by area — 290,322 km² combined.
Italy would fit inside Poland, Vietnam and Finland, by area.
How many fit?
United Arab Emirates fits inside Italy 4.2 times. South Korea fits inside Italy 3.1 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°. Italy's middle sits at 43°N, where the stretch is about 1.9×.
Area stretch on the old map at each latitude, equator to 80°. The number at the top of this page compares Italy's whole share of the old map with its real share of the world's land.