Real size
How big is the Bahamas really?
12,700 km²
4,890 sq mi · 10th smallest of the 167 here · about the size of Montenegro
Normal web maps draw it 1.2× too big
The Bahamas covers 12,700 km² (4,890 sq mi), about the size of Montenegro. A normal web map draws it about 1.2 times too big: not much, but enough to make it look bigger than countries nearer the equator.
Measured from our map outlines, so official figures can differ by a few percent. Ranks count the 167 countries and territories on these pages: those over 5,000 km², not counting disputed territories.
BahamasMontenegro
BahamasMontenegro
- Real area
- 12,700 km²
- Size rank
- 158th of 167
- On a normal web map
- 1.2× too big
- Latitude
- 24°N
Countries about the same size
- MontenegroMontenegro is 1.1 times the size of the Bahamas
- VanuatuThe Bahamas is 1.1 times the size of Vanuatu
- QatarThe Bahamas is 1.1 times the size of Qatar
- JamaicaThe Bahamas is 1.2 times the size of Jamaica
- Timor-LesteTimor-Leste is 1.2 times the size of the Bahamas
The Bahamas through history
Borders here have moved many times. Step through our maps, from 2000 BCE to today, to see who ruled this land before, and how big their realms really were.
Open the history map →Browse the eras →
Common questions
- How big is the Bahamas?
- The Bahamas covers about 12,700 km² (4,890 sq mi). It is the 10th smallest of the 167 countries and territories on these pages (those over 5,000 km²).
- Why does the Bahamas look so big on maps?
- Most web maps use the Mercator projection, which keeps shapes right but stretches area more and more toward the poles. Averaged over the whole country, it draws the Bahamas about 1.2 times too big.
- Is the Bahamas bigger than Montenegro?
- No. Montenegro is about 1.1 times the size of the Bahamas.