Madagascar vs the United Kingdom: how close are they?
Madagascar is 2.48× the area of United Kingdom in our Natural Earth boundary dataset. The difference between the estimates is 354,986 km².
What the map can hide
Madagascar is a large island at a much lower latitude than the United Kingdom. Mercator enlarges the United Kingdom more, making a quick judgement from that map less reliable.
The measured area gap is substantial. Compare their fixed figures and bars, then move Madagascar toward Britain to see how a drawing changes at another latitude.
Compare the outlines
Overlay Madagascar on the United Kingdom, return it to origin, and switch projection while keeping the two numbers in view.
Open this pair in the equal-area map or compare it in Mercator. The selected outline moves on the map, while both area numbers stay fixed.
How to read these figures
Both are measured from the same prepared Natural Earth country file. Island coastlines are generalized; the figures are map-derived estimates.
Both areas are calculated from the original Natural Earth 1:50m polygons before display simplification. They are consistent estimates for this site, rather than official land or total-area statistics. The area guide explains what those definitions include. The projection guide explains the changing drawing.