On the scales

What is compared

Behind every card sits a World Bank number: the 2025 population estimate or the 2023 surface area, taken from its development indicators. The cards show each country’s name and flag; the question above them says whether people or land are counted this time. By default the two alternate, and you can fix one of them with the buttons above the quiz.

Vatican City stays off the scales: the World Bank has no numbers for it.

How close the pairs are

The level sets the ratio between the two countries. On Easy one country has at least four times the other’s figure. On Medium the ratio lies between 1.6 and 4. On Hard it is between 1.08 and 1.6, so two countries can differ by less than a tenth and the obvious guess is often wrong.

Tap, click or press 1 or 2. This mode has no hint, since the pair is the whole clue; a correct pick scores 100 and up to 50 more for speed.

Pencil notes

• Area and population often disagree. Large dry or cold countries have few people for their size, small river and delta countries many.
• The map projection used across this site keeps areas true to scale, so what looks bigger on our map is bigger on the ground. The guide to reading the map explains why.
• Remember a few anchors per continent and compare against them instead of guessing every pair from scratch.
• Look at the figures after each answer. They are the actual data, and three or four of them per round add up quickly.