Latvia vs Sri Lanka: nearly the same size, hidden by the map
Sri Lanka is actually about 4% larger than Latvia — 66,700 km² to 64,400 — though Mercator draws Latvia as the bigger of the two.
By W. Viljoen · Published 21 June 2026
Latviavs
Sri Lanka- Latvia64,403 km² · 3.3× on the map
- Sri Lanka66,722 km²
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.A close call
Latvia and Sri Lanka are nearly the same size, with Sri Lanka slightly the
larger. On a Mercator map you would assume Latvia is bigger — it sits high in the
Baltic, where the map exaggerates, while Sri Lanka looks like a small teardrop off
southern India.
The numbers
- Latvia: ~64,400 km²
- Sri Lanka: ~66,700 km²
Sri Lanka is about 4% larger — a near tie the map reverses.
Why the map lies
Sri Lanka sits in the tropics, roughly 6–10° north, where Mercator stays close to
honest. Latvia lies around 56–58° north, well into the stretch zone, so it is
drawn larger than it is. The higher latitude takes the lead it hasn't earned.
Try it
Drag Latvia south toward Sri Lanka. As it nears the tropics its true footprint
shrinks to just under Sri Lanka's — the opposite of the map's first impression.