Heard and McDonald Islands vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 723 times larger than Heard and McDonald Islands. Heard and McDonald Islands would fit into Western Sahara about 723 times.
Heard and McDonald IslandsWestern SaharaHeard and McDonald Islands moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.0×
Heard and McDonald Islands is 0.0× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 723× the size of Heard and McDonald Islands.
| Heard and McDonald Islands | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 368 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | — | 612,000 |
| Density | — | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | — | — |
| Region | Seven seas (open ocean) | 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. Heard and McDonald Islands sits at about 53°S and is stretched to 2.77× its true area; Western Sahara at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. That difference is why Heard and McDonald Islands looks so much bigger than it is next to Western Sahara. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Heard and McDonald Islands bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Heard and McDonald Islands is 723 times smaller than Western Sahara. Heard and McDonald Islands covers 368 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Heard and McDonald Islands fit into Western Sahara?
- About 723 times: Western Sahara has 723× the area of Heard and McDonald Islands.
- Why do Heard and McDonald Islands and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Heard and McDonald Islands is drawn about 2.77× its true area there and Western Sahara about 1.2×. That is why Heard and McDonald Islands looks so much bigger than it really is next to Western Sahara. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.