Iceland vs South Korea: the same size, very different on the map
Iceland and South Korea are nearly the same size — about 100,000 km² each — yet Mercator makes Iceland look much larger.
By W. Viljoen · Published 21 June 2026
Icelandvs
South Korea- Iceland101,950 km² · 5.7× on the map
- South Korea98,742 km² · 1.5× on the map
Both panels are drawn to the same scale. On the left, each country is the size the Mercator map gives it; on the right, its true size with the latitude distortion removed.Same size, different story
Iceland and South Korea cover almost exactly the same area, with Iceland a hair
ahead. You would never guess it from a map, where Iceland looms in the North
Atlantic and South Korea looks compact on the edge of Asia.
The numbers
- Iceland: ~102,000 km²
- South Korea: ~98,700 km²
A gap of about 3% — practically the same size.
Why the map lies
Iceland sits far north, around 63–66°, deep in Mercator's stretch zone, so it is
drawn much larger than reality. South Korea lies lower, around 34–38° north,
where the distortion is milder. The higher latitude wins the illusion.
Try it
Drag Iceland south toward South Korea. Watch its true-size footprint shrink as
it leaves the far north, until the two near-twins line up.