Cook Islands vs Heard and McDonald Islands
Heard and McDonald Islands is 53% larger than Cook Islands. Cook Islands would fit into Heard and McDonald Islands about 1.5 times.
Cook IslandsHeard and McDonald IslandsCook Islands moved onto Heard and McDonald Islands · Equal-area projection
0.65×
Cook Islands is 0.65× the area of Heard and McDonald Islands. Put the other way, Heard and McDonald Islands is 1.53× the size of Cook Islands.
| Cook Islands | Heard and McDonald Islands | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 240 km² | 368 km² |
| Population | 14,222 | — |
| Density | 59 / km² | — |
| Capital | Avarua | — |
| Region | Polynesia | Seven seas (open ocean) |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 0 | 0 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Cook Islands sits at about 21°S and is stretched to 1.15× its true area; Heard and McDonald Islands at 53° S is stretched to 2.77×. That difference is why Heard and McDonald Islands looks so much bigger than it is next to Cook Islands. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Cook Islands bigger than Heard and McDonald Islands?
- No. Cook Islands is 35% smaller than Heard and McDonald Islands. Cook Islands covers 240 km² and Heard and McDonald Islands covers 368 km².
- How many times does Cook Islands fit into Heard and McDonald Islands?
- About 1.5 times: Heard and McDonald Islands has 1.53× the area of Cook Islands.
- Why do Cook Islands and Heard and McDonald Islands look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Cook Islands is drawn about 1.15× its true area there and Heard and McDonald Islands about 2.77×. That is why Heard and McDonald Islands looks so much bigger than it really is next to Cook Islands. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.