Heard and McDonald Islands vs Palau
Palau is 27% larger than Heard and McDonald Islands.
Heard and McDonald IslandsPalauHeard and McDonald Islands moved onto Palau · Equal-area projection
0.79×
Heard and McDonald Islands is 0.79× the area of Palau. Put the other way, Palau is 1.27× the size of Heard and McDonald Islands.
| Heard and McDonald Islands | Palau | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 368 km² | 466 km² |
| Population | — | 17,663 |
| Density | — | 38 / km² |
| Capital | — | Koror |
| Region | Seven seas (open ocean) | Micronesia |
| 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. Heard and McDonald Islands sits at about 53°S and is stretched to 2.77× its true area; Palau at 7° N is stretched to 1.02×. That difference is why Heard and McDonald Islands looks so much bigger than it is next to Palau. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Heard and McDonald Islands bigger than Palau?
- No. Heard and McDonald Islands is 21% smaller than Palau. Heard and McDonald Islands covers 368 km² and Palau covers 466 km².
- How many times does Heard and McDonald Islands fit into Palau?
- About 1.3 times: Palau has 1.27× the area of Heard and McDonald Islands.
- Why do Heard and McDonald Islands and Palau look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Heard and McDonald Islands is drawn about 2.77× its true area there and Palau about 1.02×. That is why Heard and McDonald Islands looks so much bigger than it really is next to Palau. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.