Iran vs Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is 37% larger than Iran.
IranSaudi ArabiaIran moved onto Saudi Arabia · Equal-area projection
0.73×
Iran is 0.73× the area of Saudi Arabia. Put the other way, Saudi Arabia is 1.37× the size of Iran.
| Iran | Saudi Arabia | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1,648,195 km² | 2,250,000 km² |
| Population | 92,417,681 | 36,973,555 |
| Density | 56 / km² | 16 / km² |
| Capital | Tehran | Riyadh |
| Region | Southern Asia | Western Asia |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 7 | 7 |
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; Saudi Arabia 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 Iran bigger than Saudi Arabia?
- No. Iran is 27% smaller than Saudi Arabia. Iran covers 1,648,195 km² and Saudi Arabia covers 2,250,000 km².
- How many times does Iran fit into Saudi Arabia?
- About 1.4 times: Saudi Arabia has 1.37× the area of Iran.
- Why do Iran and Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabia 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, Iran or Saudi Arabia?
- Iran: 92,417,681 people against 36,973,555. Density: Iran 56 per km², Saudi Arabia 16 per km².