Burkina Faso vs Western Sahara
Burkina Faso is 3% larger than Western Sahara.
Burkina FasoWestern SaharaBurkina Faso moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
1.03×
Burkina Faso is 1.03× the area of Western Sahara.
| Burkina Faso | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 274,200 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 24,074,580 | 612,000 |
| Density | 88 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Ouagadougou | — |
| Region | Western Africa | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 6 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Burkina Faso sits at about 12°N and is stretched to 1.05× 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 Burkina Faso bigger than Western Sahara?
- Yes. Burkina Faso is 3% larger than Western Sahara. Burkina Faso covers 274,200 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Western Sahara fit into Burkina Faso?
- About 1.0 times: Burkina Faso has 1.03× the area of Western Sahara.
- Why do Burkina Faso and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Burkina Faso is drawn about 1.05× 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, Burkina Faso or Western Sahara?
- Burkina Faso: 24,074,580 people against 612,000. Density: Burkina Faso 88 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².