Iceland vs Mauritania
Mauritania is 10 times larger than Iceland. Iceland would fit into Mauritania about 10 times.
IcelandMauritaniaIceland moved onto Mauritania · Equal-area projection
0.1×
Iceland is 0.1× the area of Mauritania. Put the other way, Mauritania is 10× the size of Iceland.
| Iceland | Mauritania | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 103,004 km² | 1,030,700 km² |
| Population | 392,404 | 5,315,065 |
| Density | 3.8 / km² | 5.2 / km² |
| Capital | Reykjavik | Nouakchott |
| Region | Northern Europe | Western Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 0 | 4 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Iceland sits at about 65°N and is stretched to 5.6× its true area; Mauritania at 20° N is stretched to 1.14×. That difference is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it is next to Mauritania. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Iceland bigger than Mauritania?
- No. Iceland is 10 times smaller than Mauritania. Iceland covers 103,004 km² and Mauritania covers 1,030,700 km².
- How many times does Iceland fit into Mauritania?
- About 10 times: Mauritania has 10× the area of Iceland.
- Why do Iceland and Mauritania look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Iceland is drawn about 5.6× its true area there and Mauritania about 1.14×. That is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it really is next to Mauritania. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Iceland or Mauritania?
- Mauritania: 5,315,065 people against 392,404. Density: Iceland 3.8 per km², Mauritania 5.2 per km².