Kazakhstan vs Greenland: the underdog is bigger
Kazakhstan is about 27% larger than Greenland — 2.71 million km² to 2.14 million — though Mercator draws Greenland as the giant.
By W. Viljoen · Published 21 June 2026
Kazakhstanvs
Greenland- Kazakhstan2,712,415 km² · 2.3× on the map
- Greenland2,142,677 km² · 9.9× 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.The largest country you underestimate
Kazakhstan is the biggest landlocked country on Earth, but on a standard map it
reads as a wide smudge across Central Asia — easily overshadowed by Greenland's
glowing northern bulk. In reality, Kazakhstan is the larger of the two.
The numbers
- Kazakhstan: ~2.71 million km²
- Greenland: ~2.14 million km²
Kazakhstan is about 27% larger than Greenland, despite looking like the smaller
country on the map.
Why the map lies
Greenland sits high in the Arctic, where Mercator inflates everything most
aggressively. Kazakhstan straddles the mid-latitudes around 40–55° north, far enough
south that the distortion is comparatively mild. Same projection, very different
treatment — and the genuinely bigger country is the one drawn smaller.
Try it
Drag Greenland south toward Kazakhstan's latitudes. Stripped of its polar
inflation, its true size drops well below Kazakhstan's — the underdog comes out
ahead.