Same latitude, same lie: Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Mongolia
Three countries of very different sizes, all stretched by the identical factor — because they share a line of latitude.
By W. Viljoen · Published 21 June 2026
Ukraine,
Kazakhstan,
Mongolia- Ukraine571,457 km² · 2.3× on the map
- Kazakhstan2,712,415 km² · 2.3× on the map
- Mongolia1,564,048 km² · 2.2× 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.Three countries, one parallel
Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Mongolia all sit at almost the same latitude — their centres
hover around 48° north. They look like completely different countries on the map, and
in real life they are very different sizes. But the map's lie about each one is
identical, down to the decimal.
The numbers
Their true areas, and how much bigger Mercator draws each at its centre:
- Ukraine (~49° N): 571,457 km², drawn ~2.3× too big.
- Mongolia (~48° N): 1,564,048 km², drawn ~2.2× too big.
- Kazakhstan (~48° N): 2,712,415 km², drawn ~2.3× too big.
Kazakhstan is nearly five times Ukraine's real area — yet the inflation factor
they're each drawn with is the same.
Why the map lies
Mercator's area stretch is sec²(latitude), and that's all it depends on — not a
country's size, not its shape, not how far east or west it sits. Any two places on
the same parallel are blown up by precisely the same factor, whether they're
neighbours or oceans apart. At ~48° north that factor is about 2.3.
Try it
Grab any of the three and drag it straight east or west along its parallel — the
readout barely moves, because the lie is identical all along the line. Now drag it
north or south and watch the multiplier climb or fall. Latitude is the only thing
the map's distortion cares about.