Ecuador vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 3% larger than Ecuador.
EcuadorWestern SaharaEcuador moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.97×
Ecuador is 0.97× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 1.03× the size of Ecuador.
| Ecuador | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 257,204 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 18,289,896 | 612,000 |
| Density | 71 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Quito | — |
| Region | South America | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Ecuador 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 Ecuador bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Ecuador is 3% smaller than Western Sahara. Ecuador covers 257,204 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Ecuador fit into Western Sahara?
- About 1.0 times: Western Sahara has 1.03× the area of Ecuador.
- Why do Ecuador and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Ecuador 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, Ecuador or Western Sahara?
- Ecuador: 18,289,896 people against 612,000. Density: Ecuador 71 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².