Ireland vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 3.81 times larger than Ireland. Ireland would fit into Western Sahara about 3.8 times.
IrelandWestern SaharaIreland moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.26×
Ireland is 0.26× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 3.81× the size of Ireland.
| Ireland | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 69,797 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 5,484,367 | 612,000 |
| Density | 79 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Dublin | — |
| Region | Northern Europe | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 1 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Ireland sits at about 53°N and is stretched to 2.78× its true area; Western Sahara at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. That difference is why Ireland 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 Ireland bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Ireland is 3.81 times smaller than Western Sahara. Ireland covers 69,797 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Ireland fit into Western Sahara?
- About 3.8 times: Western Sahara has 3.81× the area of Ireland.
- Why do Ireland and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Ireland is drawn about 2.78× its true area there and Western Sahara about 1.2×. That is why Ireland 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, Ireland or Western Sahara?
- Ireland: 5,484,367 people against 612,000. Density: Ireland 79 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².