Eswatini vs Lesotho
Lesotho is 75% larger than Eswatini. Eswatini would fit into Lesotho about 1.7 times.
EswatiniLesothoEswatini moved onto Lesotho · Equal-area projection
0.57×
Eswatini is 0.57× the area of Lesotho. Put the other way, Lesotho is 1.75× the size of Eswatini.
| Eswatini | Lesotho | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 17,364 km² | 30,355 km² |
| Population | 1,256,174 | 2,363,325 |
| Density | 72 / km² | 78 / km² |
| Capital | Mbabane | Maseru |
| Region | Southern Africa | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Landlocked |
| Neighbours | 2 | 1 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Eswatini sits at about 27°S and is stretched to 1.25× its true area; Lesotho at 30° S is stretched to 1.32×. 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 Eswatini bigger than Lesotho?
- No. Eswatini is 43% smaller than Lesotho. Eswatini covers 17,364 km² and Lesotho covers 30,355 km².
- How many times does Eswatini fit into Lesotho?
- About 1.7 times: Lesotho has 1.75× the area of Eswatini.
- Why do Eswatini and Lesotho look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Eswatini is drawn about 1.25× its true area there and Lesotho about 1.32×. 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, Eswatini or Lesotho?
- Lesotho: 2,363,325 people against 1,256,174. Density: Eswatini 72 per km², Lesotho 78 per km².