The size of Belgium (.com)

There are over two hundred countries in the world, but Belgium is often chosen to provide a surface comparison. This is the conclusion of the 50-year-old American Andy Millard, who created a remarkable website (sizeofbelgium.com). "For some reason your country is incredibly popular as a surface size," he says.



How much rainforest is cut down each year? How large is the Kruger National Park in South Africa? How big is the area that would be destroyed as a 1kilometer asteroid would collide with Earth? How big is the largest iceberg ever discovered?


Approximately 30.000 square km, is the answer to these questions. But newspapers and websites around the world prefer to use an equation more tangible, such as Belgium. With its 30.528 square kilometer Belgium is exceptionally popular as a surface size. The U.S. state of Michigan is "five times as large as Belgium, the Chinese capital Beijing is" half as big as Belgium.


source: nieuwsblad.com; sizeofbelgium.com