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True size comparison

Iceland vs Cuba: size comparison

Cuba is 1.07 times the size of Iceland.

  • Iceland 103,000 km²
  • Cuba 109,880 km²

Drag a country, see its true size

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    Drag the coloured shape anywhere on the map. It keeps its real size on the globe, so the map redraws it bigger near the poles and smaller near the equator.

    Why they look different on a map

    Iceland is centred around 65°N and Cuba around 22°N. At those latitudes the Mercator projection used by most world maps draws Iceland 5.6 times and Cuba 1.2 times larger than they would appear at the equator.

    So on a typical world map, Iceland looks 4.5 times the size of Cuba. In reality Cuba is 1.07 times the size of Iceland. The map gets it backwards: the country that looks bigger is actually the smaller one.

    Country True area Centred around Mercator enlargement
    Iceland 103,000 km² 65°N ×5.6
    Cuba 109,880 km² 22°N ×1.2

    The stretch is 1 divided by the cosine of the latitude, squared. At 60° north a country is drawn four times larger than the same country would be at the equator.

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    Iceland vs Cuba: questions

    Which is bigger, Iceland or Cuba?

    Cuba is 1.07 times the size of Iceland. Iceland covers 103,000 km² and Cuba covers 109,880 km².

    Why do Iceland and Cuba look a different size on world maps?

    Iceland is centred around 65°N and Cuba around 22°N. At those latitudes the Mercator projection used by most world maps draws Iceland 5.6 times and Cuba 1.2 times larger than they would appear at the equator. So on a typical world map, Iceland looks 4.5 times the size of Cuba.

    How many times does Iceland fit into Cuba?

    By area, Iceland would fit into Cuba about 1.07 times.