Antarctica vs Western Sahara
Antarctica is 52.6 times larger than Western Sahara. Western Sahara would fit into Antarctica about 53 times.
AntarcticaWestern SaharaAntarctica moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
52.6×
Antarctica is 52.6× the area of Western Sahara.
| Antarctica | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 14,000,000 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 4,400 | 612,000 |
| Density | 0.00 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | — | — |
| Region | Antarctica | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 0 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Antarctica sits at about 85°S and is stretched to 129× its true area; Western Sahara at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. That difference is why Antarctica looks so much bigger than it is next to Western Sahara. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Antarctica bigger than Western Sahara?
- Yes. Antarctica is 52.6 times larger than Western Sahara. Antarctica covers 14,000,000 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Western Sahara fit into Antarctica?
- About 53 times: Antarctica has 52.6× the area of Western Sahara.
- Why do Antarctica and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Antarctica is drawn about 129× its true area there and Western Sahara about 1.2×. That is why Antarctica looks so much bigger than it really is next to Western Sahara. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Antarctica or Western Sahara?
- Western Sahara: 612,000 people against 4,400. Density: Antarctica 0.00 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².