This guide to just how big Africa is went viral and it took us far too long to spot Africa

Poke Staff. Updated February 18th, 2021

It’s not easy mapping the world because, as nearly all of us know, it’s not flat.

One consequence is that traditional maps tend to make some countries look bigger (Greenland, for example) and some continents (we’re looking at you, Africa) much smaller than they really are.

We only mention it because this guide to just how big Africa really is has just gone viral because it’s a proper eye opener (and we spent far too long trying to spot Africa).

‘A very interesting guide to just how big Africa is,’ said SureNose961 over on Reddit.

The graphic was made for the Scientific American and here are just a few of the things people said about it.

‘How long would it take you to drive from top to bottom of Africa?’ bankdudz

‘I just Googled it, 6 days 5 hours. Doesn’t include you taking breaks.’ junkiejarrett

‘Spent 20 seconds looking for Africa to compare on the map before I realised… ‘ drjohnazoidberg69

Not everyone was impressed, however.

‘Oh wow. An entire continent is bigger than countries that are parts of other continents.’ rocketwrench

Source Scientific American Reddit SureNose 961