Iceland vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 2.58 times larger than Iceland. Iceland would fit into Western Sahara about 2.6 times.
IcelandWestern SaharaIceland moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.39×
Iceland is 0.39× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 2.58× the size of Iceland.
| Iceland | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 103,004 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 392,404 | 612,000 |
| Density | 3.8 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Reykjavik | — |
| Region | Northern Europe | 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. Iceland sits at about 65°N and is stretched to 5.6× its true area; Western Sahara at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. That difference is why Iceland 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 Iceland bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Iceland is 2.58 times smaller than Western Sahara. Iceland covers 103,004 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Iceland fit into Western Sahara?
- About 2.6 times: Western Sahara has 2.58× the area of Iceland.
- Why do Iceland and Western Sahara 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 Western Sahara about 1.2×. That is why Iceland 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.
- Which has more people, Iceland or Western Sahara?
- Western Sahara: 612,000 people against 392,404. Density: Iceland 3.8 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².