Congo vs Western Sahara
Congo is 29% larger than Western Sahara.
CongoWestern SaharaCongo moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
1.29×
Congo is 1.29× the area of Western Sahara.
| Congo | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 342,000 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 6,484,437 | 612,000 |
| Density | 19 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Brazzaville | — |
| Region | Middle Africa | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 5 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Congo sits at about 1°S and is stretched to 1.0× 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 Congo bigger than Western Sahara?
- Yes. Congo is 29% larger than Western Sahara. Congo covers 342,000 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Western Sahara fit into Congo?
- About 1.3 times: Congo has 1.29× the area of Western Sahara.
- Why do Congo and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Congo is drawn about 1.0× 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, Congo or Western Sahara?
- Congo: 6,484,437 people against 612,000. Density: Congo 19 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².