Austria vs Western Sahara

Western Sahara is 3.17 times larger than Austria. Austria would fit into Western Sahara about 3.2 times.

AustriaWestern SaharaAustria moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.32×
Austria is 0.32× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 3.17× the size of Austria.
AustriaWestern Sahara
Area83,879 km²266,000 km²
Population9,208,163612,000
Density110 / km²2.3 / km²
CapitalVienna
RegionWestern EuropeNorthern Africa
CoastlineLandlockedHas a coast
Neighbours83

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Austria sits at about 48°N and is stretched to 2.2× its true area; Western Sahara at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. That difference is why Austria 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 Austria bigger than Western Sahara?
No. Austria is 3.17 times smaller than Western Sahara. Austria covers 83,879 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
How many times does Austria fit into Western Sahara?
About 3.2 times: Western Sahara has 3.17× the area of Austria.
Why do Austria and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Austria is drawn about 2.2× its true area there and Western Sahara about 1.2×. That is why Austria 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, Austria or Western Sahara?
Austria: 9,208,163 people against 612,000. Density: Austria 110 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².