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True size comparison

Norway vs Japan: size comparison

Norway and Japan are almost the same size: Norway is only 2% larger.

  • Norway 385,210 km²
  • Japan 377,980 km²

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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

    Norway is centred around 64°N and Japan around 37°N. At those latitudes the Mercator projection used by most world maps draws Norway 5.3 times and Japan 1.6 times larger than they would appear at the equator.

    So on a typical world map, Norway looks 3.5 times the size of Japan. In reality Norway is 1.02 times the size of Japan.

    Country True area Centred around Mercator enlargement
    Norway 385,210 km² 64°N ×5.3
    Japan 377,980 km² 37°N ×1.6

    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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    Norway vs Japan: questions

    Which is bigger, Norway or Japan?

    Norway and Japan are almost the same size: Norway is only 2% larger. Norway covers 385,210 km² and Japan covers 377,980 km².

    Why do Norway and Japan look a different size on world maps?

    Norway is centred around 64°N and Japan around 37°N. At those latitudes the Mercator projection used by most world maps draws Norway 5.3 times and Japan 1.6 times larger than they would appear at the equator. So on a typical world map, Norway looks 3.5 times the size of Japan.

    How many times does Japan fit into Norway?

    Only once: the two are within 2% of each other, so Japan covers almost all of Norway.