Benin vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 2.32 times larger than Benin. Benin would fit into Western Sahara about 2.3 times.
BeninWestern SaharaBenin moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.43×
Benin is 0.43× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 2.32× the size of Benin.
| Benin | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 114,763 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 14,814,460 | 612,000 |
| Density | 129 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Porto-Novo | — |
| Region | Western Africa | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 4 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Benin sits at about 10°N and is stretched to 1.03× 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 Benin bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Benin is 2.32 times smaller than Western Sahara. Benin covers 114,763 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Benin fit into Western Sahara?
- About 2.3 times: Western Sahara has 2.32× the area of Benin.
- Why do Benin and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Benin is drawn about 1.03× 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, Benin or Western Sahara?
- Benin: 14,814,460 people against 612,000. Density: Benin 129 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².