The True Size of Pakistan
Compare Pakistan 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 Pakistan?
Pakistan covers about 796,095 km² (307,374 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.
Pakistan on a Mercator map
The centre of this country lies at 30° N, where the Mercator projection stretches area by about 1.3×. Its outline takes up as much room on the map as 1,061,965 km² would at the equator.
Its real area is 796,095 km². The country closest to that size: Nigeria.
Pakistan compared with other countries
Total areas including inland water; ratios are rounded.
| Country | Area (km²) | Compared with Pakistan |
|---|---|---|
 Russia | 17,098,242 | 21× larger |
 Canada | 9,984,670 | 13× larger |
 United States | 9,833,517 | 12× larger |
 China | 9,596,960 | 12× larger |
 Brazil | 8,515,770 | 11× larger |
 Australia | 7,741,220 | 9.7× larger |
 India | 3,287,263 | 4.1× larger |
 Argentina | 2,780,400 | 3.5× larger |
 Greenland | 2,166,086 | 2.7× larger |
 Mexico | 1,964,375 | 2.5× larger |
 Indonesia | 1,904,569 | 2.4× larger |
 France | 643,801 | 1.2× smaller |
 Ukraine | 603,550 | 1.3× smaller |
 Japan | 377,915 | 2.1× smaller |
 Poland | 312,685 | 2.5× smaller |
 New Zealand | 268,838 | 3× smaller |
 United Kingdom | 243,610 | 3.3× smaller |
 Netherlands | 41,543 | 19× smaller |
Countries closest in size to Pakistan
Measured on the globe from the same outlines the map draws, so the figures are approximate. Drag any of them next to Pakistan to see the difference for yourself.
Slightly larger
Nigeria911,499 km²4.3% larger
Venezuela914,313 km²4.6% larger
Tanzania945,783 km²8.2% larger
Slightly smaller
Namibia824,753 km²5.6% smaller
Mozambique790,645 km²9.5% smaller
Türkiye779,799 km²10.8% smaller
How big Pakistan 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 (30° N) | 1.3× 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) | 11.2× its real size |
Questions about the size of Pakistan
How big is Pakistan?+
Pakistan has a total area of about 796,095 km² (307,374 sq mi), including inland water. The country closest to it in size is Nigeria.
Is Pakistan bigger than Nigeria?+
Not quite. Nigeria covers about 911,499 km², roughly 4.3% more than Pakistan. 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 Pakistan 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 Pakistan is at 30° N, where the map draws it about 1.3× too large — as much room as 1,061,965 km² would take at the equator. Drag the outline toward the equator and it shrinks to its honest size.