#ICYMI: Here's where you can compare the true size of each country around the world

The Philippines is not as small as you think.

Screenshot from The True Size Of website

Comparing countries' land area

Ever wondered how big the land area of the Philippines is compared to other countries? You can check it out through the website The True Size Of.

According to science media organization ScienceKonek, "many of the maps we often encounter, in textbooks, websites, and classrooms, use the Mercator projection, a popular but highly distorted type of map."

This preserves the shape and direction, making it helpful for navigation, but landmasses near the poles are enlarged. As a result, countries like the Philippines can appear deceptively small, while regions such as Greenland seem far larger than they actually are.

With websites such as The True Size Of, you can simply search and compare the land area of a country with others.

For instance, the Philippines is around 300,000 km² in terms of land. Japan is bigger, with a size of over 377,000 km², while South Korea is evidently smaller, with only over 120,000 km² land area. The country is also bigger than some powerhouse nations like the United Kingdom, with only 242,495 km² of land area. 

Though maps give us a glimpse of reality, they can also distort our understanding of the world. That’s why it’s important to always consider the context, such as the type of map projection used, to better interpret the information we see and gain a more accurate view, ScienceKonek said.

What do you guys think?

Via: ScienceKonek, Source: The True Size Of