Iraq vs Western Sahara
Iraq is 64% larger than Western Sahara. Western Sahara would fit into Iraq about 1.6 times.
IraqWestern SaharaIraq moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
1.64×
Iraq is 1.64× the area of Western Sahara.
| Iraq | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 437,072 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 47,020,774 | 612,000 |
| Density | 108 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Baghdad | — |
| Region | Western Asia | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 6 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Iraq sits at about 33°N and is stretched to 1.42× its true area; Western Sahara 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 Iraq bigger than Western Sahara?
- Yes. Iraq is 64% larger than Western Sahara. Iraq covers 437,072 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Western Sahara fit into Iraq?
- About 1.6 times: Iraq has 1.64× the area of Western Sahara.
- Why do Iraq and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Iraq is drawn about 1.42× its true area there and Western Sahara 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, Iraq or Western Sahara?
- Iraq: 47,020,774 people against 612,000. Density: Iraq 108 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².