United Kingdom vs Japan: size comparison
Japan is 1.6 times the size of United Kingdom.
- United Kingdom 242,500 km²
- Japan 377,980 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
United Kingdom is centred around 54°N and Japan around 37°N. At those latitudes the Mercator projection used by most world maps draws United Kingdom 2.9 times and Japan 1.6 times larger than they would appear at the equator.
So on a typical world map, United Kingdom looks 1.2 times the size of Japan. In reality Japan is 1.6 times the size of United Kingdom. The map gets it backwards: the country that looks bigger is actually the smaller one.
| Country | True area | Centred around | Mercator enlargement |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 242,500 km² | 54°N | ×2.9 |
| 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.
More size comparisons
- United Kingdom vs Germany
- United Kingdom vs New Zealand
- United Kingdom vs Madagascar
- United Kingdom vs France
- Germany vs Japan
- Norway vs Japan
- Italy vs United Kingdom
- New Zealand vs Japan
- Greenland vs DR Congo
- Greenland vs Australia
- Greenland vs United States
- Greenland vs Brazil
- Greenland vs India
- Greenland vs Mexico
- Greenland vs Saudi Arabia
- Greenland vs Algeria
- Russia vs Canada
- Russia vs United States
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United Kingdom vs Japan: questions
Which is bigger, United Kingdom or Japan?
Japan is 1.6 times the size of United Kingdom. United Kingdom covers 242,500 km² and Japan covers 377,980 km².
Why do United Kingdom and Japan look a different size on world maps?
United Kingdom is centred around 54°N and Japan around 37°N. At those latitudes the Mercator projection used by most world maps draws United Kingdom 2.9 times and Japan 1.6 times larger than they would appear at the equator. So on a typical world map, United Kingdom looks 1.2 times the size of Japan.
How many times does United Kingdom fit into Japan?
By area, United Kingdom would fit into Japan about 1.6 times.