United Kingdom vs New Zealand: size comparison
New Zealand is 1.1 times the size of United Kingdom.
- United Kingdom 242,500 km²
- New Zealand 270,470 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 New Zealand around 44°S. At those latitudes the Mercator projection used by most world maps draws United Kingdom 2.9 times and New Zealand 1.9 times larger than they would appear at the equator.
So on a typical world map, United Kingdom looks 1.3 times the size of New Zealand. In reality New Zealand is 1.1 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 |
| New Zealand | 270,470 km² | 44°S | ×1.9 |
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 Japan
- United Kingdom vs Germany
- United Kingdom vs Madagascar
- United Kingdom vs France
- 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
- Russia vs China
- Russia vs Brazil
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United Kingdom vs New Zealand: questions
Which is bigger, United Kingdom or New Zealand?
New Zealand is 1.1 times the size of United Kingdom. United Kingdom covers 242,500 km² and New Zealand covers 270,470 km².
Why do United Kingdom and New Zealand look a different size on world maps?
United Kingdom is centred around 54°N and New Zealand around 44°S. At those latitudes the Mercator projection used by most world maps draws United Kingdom 2.9 times and New Zealand 1.9 times larger than they would appear at the equator. So on a typical world map, United Kingdom looks 1.3 times the size of New Zealand.
How many times does United Kingdom fit into New Zealand?
By area, United Kingdom would fit into New Zealand about 1.1 times.