...Mercator projection drastically distorts the size and shape of objects approaching the poles. This may be the reason people have no idea how big some places really are.

Read article at:  http://www.businessinsider.com/mercator-projection-v-gall-peters-pr...

Here are a few land sizes for a selection of different countries;

Portugal.....35,516 sq. miles

Belgium.....11,787 " "

Netherlands.....16,033 " "

Spain.....195,364 " "

France.....260,558 " "

U.S.....3.794 million " "

Germany.....137,846 " "

Switzerland.....15,940 " "

Italy.....116,305 " "

India.....1.269 million " "

China.....3.748 million " "

Japan.....145,925 " "

UK.....94,058 " "

Belarus.....80,139 " "

Bulgaria.....42,855 " "

Czech Republic.....30,450 " "

Hungry.....35,919 " "

Moldova.....13,068 " "

Poland.....120,726 " "

Romania.....92,043 " "

Russia.....6.602 million " "

Slovakia.....18,933 " "

Ukraine.....233,062 " "

AFRICA.....11.67 MILLION SQ MILES