Closer than most people guess: Iran (1,648,195 km²) is only about 5% larger than Mongolia (1,564,116 km²).
Both sit in Asia, so this is a same-region comparison: the new Equal Earth map draws both with the same honest geometry, and the real gap is exactly the 1.1× you see above.
The old map muddied it further: Mercator inflates Iran about 1.4× and Mongolia about 2.1×, so on a Mercator-style map this pair appears 1.4× apart instead of the true 1.1×.
Mongolia fits 1× into Iran.
Iran vs Mongolia: key figures
| Measure | Iran | Mongolia |
|---|
| True area | 1,648,195 km² · #18 | 1,564,116 km² · #19 |
| Mercator inflation | 1.4× | 2.1× |
| Apparent on Mercator | 2,318,516 km² | 3,357,375 km² |