The True Size of New Zealand
Compare New Zealand with other countries and regions on an interactive map to see their actual relative sizes.
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Type a country name and press Enter to add it to the map.
How big is New Zealand?
New Zealand covers about 268,838 km² (103,799 sq mi). On a Mercator map its apparent size depends entirely on latitude — drag the outline above onto another part of the world to see how it really compares.
New Zealand on a Mercator map
The centre of this country lies at 42° S, where the Mercator projection stretches area by about 1.8×. Its outline takes up as much room on the map as 485,877 km² would at the equator.
Its real area is 268,838 km². The country closest to that size: Gabon.
New Zealand compared with other countries
Total areas including inland water; ratios are rounded.
| Country | Area (km²) | Compared with New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
 Russia | 17,098,242 | 64× larger |
 Canada | 9,984,670 | 37× larger |
 United States | 9,833,517 | 37× larger |
 China | 9,596,960 | 36× larger |
 Brazil | 8,515,770 | 32× larger |
 Australia | 7,741,220 | 29× larger |
 India | 3,287,263 | 12× larger |
 Argentina | 2,780,400 | 10× larger |
 Greenland | 2,166,086 | 8.1× larger |
 Mexico | 1,964,375 | 7.3× larger |
 Indonesia | 1,904,569 | 7.1× larger |
 Pakistan | 796,095 | 3× larger |
 France | 643,801 | 2.4× larger |
 Ukraine | 603,550 | 2.2× larger |
 Japan | 377,915 | 1.4× larger |
 Poland | 312,685 | 1.2× larger |
 United Kingdom | 243,610 | 1.1× smaller |
 Netherlands | 41,543 | 6.5× smaller |
Countries closest in size to New Zealand
Measured on the globe from the same outlines the map draws, so the figures are approximate. Drag any of them next to New Zealand to see the difference for yourself.
Slightly larger
Burkina Faso273,691 km²2.6% larger
Philippines290,319 km²8.8% larger
Italy300,268 km²12.5% larger
Slightly smaller
Gabon260,716 km²2.3% smaller
Ecuador255,659 km²4.2% smaller
Guinea244,938 km²8.2% smaller
How big New Zealand looks at other latitudes
Drag the outline so its centre sits on each of these latitudes and the map draws it this many times larger than its real area. Mercator stretches area roughly by the square of the scale, so the growth is steep.
| Where it actually sits (42° S) | 1.8× its real size |
| At the equator (Indonesia, Kenya, Ecuador) | its real size |
| At 30° (Egypt, northern Mexico, central Argentina) | 1.3× its real size |
| At 45° (northern Italy, Minnesota, New Zealand) | 2× its real size |
| At 60° (Oslo, Helsinki, southern Alaska) | 4.1× its real size |
| At 72° (central Greenland) | 11.3× its real size |
Questions about the size of New Zealand
How big is New Zealand?+
New Zealand has a total area of about 268,838 km² (103,799 sq mi), including inland water. The country closest to it in size is Gabon.
Is New Zealand bigger than Burkina Faso?+
Not quite. Burkina Faso covers about 273,691 km², roughly 2.6% more than New Zealand. Put both on the map and the difference stays the same wherever you drag them, because every outline is drawn at its true size.
Why does New Zealand look bigger on a map than it really is?+
Because the Mercator projection stretches area the further you get from the equator. The centre of New Zealand is at 42° S, where the map draws it about 1.8× too large — as much room as 485,877 km² would take at the equator. Drag the outline toward the equator and it shrinks to its honest size.