The True Size of United Kingdom
Compare United Kingdom with other countries and regions on an interactive map to see their actual relative sizes.
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How big is United Kingdom?
United Kingdom covers about 243,610 km² (94,058 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.
United Kingdom on a Mercator map
The centre of this country lies at 54° N, where the Mercator projection stretches area by about 2.9×. Its outline takes up as much room on the map as 706,247 km² would at the equator.
Its real area is 243,610 km². The country closest to that size: Ghana.
United Kingdom compared with other countries
Total areas including inland water; ratios are rounded.
| Country | Area (km²) | Compared with United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
 Russia | 17,098,242 | 70× larger |
 Canada | 9,984,670 | 41× larger |
 United States | 9,833,517 | 40× larger |
 China | 9,596,960 | 39× larger |
 Brazil | 8,515,770 | 35× larger |
 Australia | 7,741,220 | 32× larger |
 India | 3,287,263 | 13× larger |
 Argentina | 2,780,400 | 11× larger |
 Greenland | 2,166,086 | 8.9× larger |
 Mexico | 1,964,375 | 8.1× larger |
 Indonesia | 1,904,569 | 7.8× larger |
 Pakistan | 796,095 | 3.3× larger |
 France | 643,801 | 2.6× larger |
 Ukraine | 603,550 | 2.5× larger |
 Japan | 377,915 | 1.6× larger |
 Poland | 312,685 | 1.3× larger |
 New Zealand | 268,838 | 1.1× larger |
 Netherlands | 41,543 | 5.9× smaller |
Countries closest in size to United Kingdom
Measured on the globe from the same outlines the map draws, so the figures are approximate. Drag any of them next to United Kingdom to see the difference for yourself.
Slightly larger
Uganda242,569 km²1.2% larger
Guinea244,938 km²2.2% larger
Ecuador255,659 km²6.7% larger
Slightly smaller
Ghana239,590 km²0% smaller
Romania235,753 km²1.6% smaller
Laos228,929 km²4.5% smaller
How big United Kingdom 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 (54° N) | 2.9× 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) | 10.7× its real size |
Questions about the size of United Kingdom
How big is United Kingdom?+
United Kingdom has a total area of about 243,610 km² (94,058 sq mi), including inland water. The country closest to it in size is Ghana.
Is United Kingdom bigger than Uganda?+
Not quite. Uganda covers about 242,569 km², roughly 1.2% more than United Kingdom. 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 United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom is at 54° N, where the map draws it about 2.9× too large — as much room as 706,247 km² would take at the equator. Drag the outline toward the equator and it shrinks to its honest size.