Botswana vs Madagascar
Madagascar and Botswana are almost exactly the same size.
BotswanaMadagascarBotswana moved onto Madagascar · Equal-area projection
0.99×
Botswana is 0.99× the area of Madagascar. Put the other way, Madagascar is 1.01× the size of Botswana.
| Botswana | Madagascar | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 581,737 km² | 587,295 km² |
| Population | 2,562,122 | 32,740,678 |
| Density | 4.4 / km² | 56 / km² |
| Capital | Gaborone | Antananarivo |
| Region | Southern Africa | Eastern Africa |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 3 | 0 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Botswana sits at about 22°S and is stretched to 1.17× its true area; Madagascar at 19° S is stretched to 1.12×. 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 Botswana bigger than Madagascar?
- No. Botswana and Madagascar are almost exactly the same size. Botswana covers 581,737 km² and Madagascar covers 587,295 km².
- How many times does Botswana fit into Madagascar?
- About 1.0 times: Madagascar has 1.01× the area of Botswana.
- Why do Botswana and Madagascar look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Botswana is drawn about 1.17× its true area there and Madagascar about 1.12×. 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, Botswana or Madagascar?
- Madagascar: 32,740,678 people against 2,562,122. Density: Botswana 4.4 per km², Madagascar 56 per km².