Africa · True size
🇱🇾 Libya
1.9×
Libya is drawn 1.9× smaller on the old map than it really is.
True area
1,626,393 km²
On the old map
1.9×
drawn smaller than true
Distortion rank
#82
of 176 · 1 = most inflated
Share of world land
1.21%
On the old map
Libya looks about the same size as Pakistan on the old map — it isn't.
Shapes above: Libya at the size the old map gives it, next to Pakistan's true size. Libya's real area is 1,626,393 km² — Pakistan is 873,784 km².
By area
Libya is big enough to fit Iran inside it, by area — 1,622,871 km² combined.
Libya would fit inside Sudan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, by area.
How many fit?
The United Kingdom fits inside Libya 6.8 times. United Arab Emirates fits inside Libya 23 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°. Libya's middle sits at 27°N, where the stretch is about 1.3×.
Area stretch on the old map at each latitude, equator to 80°. The number at the top of this page compares Libya's whole share of the old map with its real share of the world's land.