Djibouti vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 11.5 times larger than Djibouti. Djibouti would fit into Western Sahara about 11 times.
DjiboutiWestern SaharaDjibouti moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.09×
Djibouti is 0.09× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 11.5× the size of Djibouti.
| Djibouti | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 23,200 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 1,184,076 | 612,000 |
| Density | 51 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Djibouti | — |
| Region | Eastern Africa | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 3 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Djibouti sits at about 12°N and is stretched to 1.04× 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 Djibouti bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Djibouti is 11.5 times smaller than Western Sahara. Djibouti covers 23,200 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Djibouti fit into Western Sahara?
- About 11 times: Western Sahara has 11.5× the area of Djibouti.
- Why do Djibouti and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Djibouti is drawn about 1.04× 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, Djibouti or Western Sahara?
- Djibouti: 1,184,076 people against 612,000. Density: Djibouti 51 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².