Guam vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 489 times larger than Guam. Guam would fit into Western Sahara about 489 times.
GuamWestern SaharaGuam moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.0×
Guam is 0.0× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 489× the size of Guam.
| Guam | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 544 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 168,999 | 612,000 |
| Density | 311 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Agana | — |
| Region | Micronesia | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 0 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Guam sits at about 13°N and is stretched to 1.06× 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 Guam bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Guam is 489 times smaller than Western Sahara. Guam covers 544 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Guam fit into Western Sahara?
- About 489 times: Western Sahara has 489× the area of Guam.
- Why do Guam and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Guam is drawn about 1.06× 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, Guam or Western Sahara?
- Western Sahara: 612,000 people against 168,999. Density: Guam 311 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².