The True Size of Poland
Compare Poland with other countries and regions on an interactive map to see their actual relative sizes.
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How big is Poland?
Poland covers about 312,685 km² (120,728 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.
Poland on a Mercator map
The centre of this country lies at 52° N, where the Mercator projection stretches area by about 2.6×. Its outline takes up as much room on the map as 828,520 km² would at the equator.
Its real area is 312,685 km². The country closest to that size: Oman.
Poland compared with other countries
Total areas including inland water; ratios are rounded.
| Country | Area (km²) | Compared with Poland |
|---|---|---|
 Russia | 17,098,242 | 55× larger |
 Canada | 9,984,670 | 32× larger |
 United States | 9,833,517 | 31× larger |
 China | 9,596,960 | 31× larger |
 Brazil | 8,515,770 | 27× larger |
 Australia | 7,741,220 | 25× larger |
 India | 3,287,263 | 11× larger |
 Argentina | 2,780,400 | 8.9× larger |
 Greenland | 2,166,086 | 6.9× larger |
 Mexico | 1,964,375 | 6.3× larger |
 Indonesia | 1,904,569 | 6.1× larger |
 Pakistan | 796,095 | 2.5× larger |
 France | 643,801 | 2.1× larger |
 Ukraine | 603,550 | 1.9× larger |
 Japan | 377,915 | 1.2× larger |
 New Zealand | 268,838 | 1.2× smaller |
 United Kingdom | 243,610 | 1.3× smaller |
 Netherlands | 41,543 | 7.5× smaller |
Countries closest in size to Poland
Measured on the globe from the same outlines the map draws, so the figures are approximate. Drag any of them next to Poland to see the difference for yourself.
Slightly larger
Côte d’Ivoire322,299 km²3.1% larger
Malaysia327,622 km²4.8% larger
Vietnam328,960 km²5.2% larger
Slightly smaller
Oman312,042 km²0.2% smaller
Italy300,268 km²3.9% smaller
Philippines290,319 km²7.1% smaller
How big Poland 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 (52° N) | 2.6× 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× its real size |
| At 72° (central Greenland) | 10.5× its real size |
Questions about the size of Poland
How big is Poland?+
Poland has a total area of about 312,685 km² (120,728 sq mi), including inland water. The country closest to it in size is Oman.
Is Poland bigger than Côte d’Ivoire?+
Not quite. Côte d’Ivoire covers about 322,299 km², roughly 3.1% more than Poland. 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 Poland 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 Poland is at 52° N, where the map draws it about 2.6× too large — as much room as 828,520 km² would take at the equator. Drag the outline toward the equator and it shrinks to its honest size.