Belize vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 11.6 times larger than Belize. Belize would fit into Western Sahara about 12 times.
BelizeWestern SaharaBelize moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.09×
Belize is 0.09× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 11.6× the size of Belize.
| Belize | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 22,966 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 422,924 | 612,000 |
| Density | 18 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Belmopan | — |
| Region | Central America | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Belize sits at about 17°N and is stretched to 1.1× its true area; Western Sahara at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Belize bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Belize is 11.6 times smaller than Western Sahara. Belize covers 22,966 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Belize fit into Western Sahara?
- About 12 times: Western Sahara has 11.6× the area of Belize.
- Why do Belize and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Belize is drawn about 1.1× its true area there and Western Sahara about 1.2×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Belize or Western Sahara?
- Western Sahara: 612,000 people against 422,924. Density: Belize 18 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².