Belgium vs Heard and McDonald Islands
Belgium is 83.4 times larger than Heard and McDonald Islands. Heard and McDonald Islands would fit into Belgium about 83 times.
BelgiumHeard and McDonald IslandsBelgium moved onto Heard and McDonald Islands · Equal-area projection
83.4×
Belgium is 83.4× the area of Heard and McDonald Islands.
| Belgium | Heard and McDonald Islands | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 30,688 km² | 368 km² |
| Population | 11,941,781 | — |
| Density | 389 / km² | — |
| Capital | Brussels | — |
| Region | Western Europe | Seven seas (open ocean) |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 4 | 0 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Belgium sits at about 51°N and is stretched to 2.49× its true area; Heard and McDonald Islands at 53° S is stretched to 2.77×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Belgium bigger than Heard and McDonald Islands?
- Yes. Belgium is 83.4 times larger than Heard and McDonald Islands. Belgium covers 30,688 km² and Heard and McDonald Islands covers 368 km².
- How many times does Heard and McDonald Islands fit into Belgium?
- About 83 times: Belgium has 83.4× the area of Heard and McDonald Islands.
- Why do Belgium and Heard and McDonald Islands look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Belgium is drawn about 2.49× its true area there and Heard and McDonald Islands about 2.77×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.