Canada vs Western Sahara
Canada is 37.5 times larger than Western Sahara. Western Sahara would fit into Canada about 38 times.
CanadaWestern SaharaCanada moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
37.5×
Canada is 37.5× the area of Western Sahara.
 Canada |  Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaCanada: 37.5× the area | 9,984,670 km²#2 of 194 | 266,000 km² |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 1 | 3 |
| People | ||
| PopulationCanada: 68.1× the population | 41,651,653#38 of 194 · 2025 | 612,0002021 |
| DensityCanada: 1.81× the density | 4.2 / km²#188 of 194 | 2.3 / km² |
| Urban population | 83%#36 of 192 · 2025 | — |
| Fertility rate | 1.25 per woman#171 of 192 · 2024 | — |
| Population growth | +0.94%#100 of 192 · 2025 | — |
| Birth rate | 8.9 per 1,000#157 of 192 · 2024 | — |
| Death rate | 7.9 per 1,000#72 of 192 · 2024 | — |
| Children under 15 | 15.0%#162 of 192 · 2025 | — |
| People over 65 | 20.3%#30 of 192 · 2025 | — |
| Net migration | +7.8 per 1,000#11 of 192 · 2025 | — |
| Refugees abroad | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 | — |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancy | 82.1 years#28 of 192 · 2024 | — |
| Infant mortality | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 | — |
| Doctors | 2.82 per 1,000#65 of 178 · 2023 | — |
| University enrolment | 76.3%#36 of 145 · 2023 | — |
| Human Development Index | 0.939#15 of 190 · 2023 | — |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | $56,420#16 of 185 · 2025 | — |
| GDP | $2.32T2025 | — |
| Income group | High income | — |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $66,746#24 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| GDP growth | +1.7%#141 of 187 · 2025 | — |
| Inflation | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| Unemployment | 6.9%#58 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Extreme poverty | 0.3%#116 of 149 · 2022 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 31.5#107 of 149 · 2022 | — |
| Jobs in agriculture | 1.1% of jobs#169 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Jobs in industry | 18.7% of jobs#96 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Jobs in services | 80.1% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Foreign investment | 3.0% of GDP#65 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| Exports | 31.3% of GDP#100 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Military spending | 1.6% of GDP#80 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet users | 94%#28 of 184 · 2024 | — |
| Mobile subscriptions | 94 per 100#137 of 191 · 2024 | — |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest area | 42% of land#62 of 192 · 2024 | — |
| CO₂ per person | 14.0 t a year#11 of 185 · 2024 | — |
| Renewable energy | 23.8%#96 of 190 · 2021 | — |
| Access to electricity | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | — |
| Air pollution (PM2.5) | 6.6 µg/m³#176 of 191 · 2023 | — |
| Protected land | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 | — |
| Arable land | 4.3% of land#134 of 190 · 2024 | — |
| Water stress | 3.7%#132 of 176 · 2022 | — |
| Precipitation | 537 mm#138 of 180 · 2022 | — |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stability | +0.81#48 of 193 · 2025 | — |
| Control of corruption | +1.59#15 of 193 · 2025 | — |
| Homicide rate | 2.0 per 100,000#80 of 146 · 2023 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Status disputed |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyfederal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm; federal and state authorities and responsibilities regulated in constitution | —legal status of territory and issue of sovereignty unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a government-in-exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), near Tindouf, Algeria, led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ until his death in May 2016; current President Brahim GHALI elected in July 2016; territory partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976 when Spain withdrew, with Morocco acquiring northern two-thirds; Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979; Morocco moved to occupy that sector shortly thereafter and has since asserted administrative control; the Polisario's government-in-exile was seated as an Organization of African Unity (OAU) member in 1984; Morocco between 1980 and 1987 built a fortified sand berm delineating the roughly 75% of Western Sahara west of the barrier that currently is controlled by Morocco; guerrilla activities continued sporadically until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented on 6 September 1991 (Security Council Resolution 690) by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) |
| Member of | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 | — |
| Capital | Ottawa | — |
| Currency | Canadian dollar (CAD) | Moroccan dirham (MAD) |
| Official languages | English, French | Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−8 to UTC−3:30, 6 time zones | UTC+1 |
| Calling code | +1 | +212 |
| Region | Northern America, North America | Northern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Canada sits at about 60° N and is stretched to 4.1× its true area; Western Sahara at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. That difference is why Canada 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 Canada bigger than Western Sahara?
- Yes. Canada is 37.5 times larger than Western Sahara. Canada covers 9,984,670 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Western Sahara fit into Canada?
- About 38 times: Canada has 37.5× the area of Western Sahara.
- Why do Canada and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Canada is drawn about 4.1× its true area there and Western Sahara about 1.2×. That is why Canada 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, Canada or Western Sahara?
- Canada: 41,651,653 people against 612,000. Density: Canada 4.2 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².