Europe · True size
🇳🇱 the Netherlands
1.1×
the Netherlands looks 1.1× bigger on the old map than it really is.
True area
37,133 km²
On the old map
1.1×
drawn bigger than true
Distortion rank
#15
of 176 · 1 = most inflated
Share of world land
0.03%
On the old map
the Netherlands looks about the same size as Switzerland on the old map — it isn't.
Shapes above: the Netherlands at the size the old map gives it, next to Switzerland's true size. the Netherlands's real area is 37,133 km² — Switzerland is 41,215 km².
By area
the Netherlands would fit inside the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the Philippines, by area.
How many fit?
Israel fits inside the Netherlands 1.7 times. Qatar fits inside the Netherlands 3.4 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°. The Netherlands's middle sits at 52°N, where the stretch is about 2.7×.
Area stretch on the old map at each latitude, equator to 80°. The number at the top of this page compares the Netherlands's whole share of the old map with its real share of the world's land.