Italy vs Western Sahara
Italy is 14% larger than Western Sahara.
ItalyWestern SaharaItaly moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
1.14×
Italy is 1.14× the area of Western Sahara.
| Italy | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 302,068 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 58,915,656 | 612,000 |
| Density | 195 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Rome | — |
| Region | Southern Europe | 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. Italy sits at about 43°N and is stretched to 1.85× its true area; Western Sahara at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. That difference is why Italy 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 Italy bigger than Western Sahara?
- Yes. Italy is 14% larger than Western Sahara. Italy covers 302,068 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Western Sahara fit into Italy?
- About 1.1 times: Italy has 1.14× the area of Western Sahara.
- Why do Italy and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Italy is drawn about 1.85× its true area there and Western Sahara about 1.2×. That is why Italy 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, Italy or Western Sahara?
- Italy: 58,915,656 people against 612,000. Density: Italy 195 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².