Iran vs Libya
Libya is 7% larger than Iran.
IranLibyaIran moved onto Libya · Equal-area projection
0.94×
Iran is 0.94× the area of Libya. Put the other way, Libya is 1.07× the size of Iran.
| Iran | Libya | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1,648,195 km² | 1,759,541 km² |
| Population | 92,417,681 | 7,458,555 |
| Density | 56 / km² | 4.2 / km² |
| Capital | Tehran | Tripoli |
| Region | Southern Asia | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 7 | 6 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Iran sits at about 33°N and is stretched to 1.41× its true area; Libya at 27° N is stretched to 1.26×. 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 Iran bigger than Libya?
- No. Iran is 6% smaller than Libya. Iran covers 1,648,195 km² and Libya covers 1,759,541 km².
- How many times does Iran fit into Libya?
- About 1.1 times: Libya has 1.07× the area of Iran.
- Why do Iran and Libya look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Iran is drawn about 1.41× its true area there and Libya about 1.26×. 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, Iran or Libya?
- Iran: 92,417,681 people against 7,458,555. Density: Iran 56 per km², Libya 4.2 per km².