Japan vs Western Sahara
Japan is 42% larger than Western Sahara.
JapanWestern SaharaJapan moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
1.42×
Japan is 1.42× the area of Western Sahara.
| Japan | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 377,972 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 123,366,734 | 612,000 |
| Density | 326 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Tokyo | — |
| Region | Eastern Asia | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 0 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Japan sits at about 37°N and is stretched to 1.59× 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 Japan bigger than Western Sahara?
- Yes. Japan is 42% larger than Western Sahara. Japan covers 377,972 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Western Sahara fit into Japan?
- About 1.4 times: Japan has 1.42× the area of Western Sahara.
- Why do Japan and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Japan is drawn about 1.59× 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, Japan or Western Sahara?
- Japan: 123,366,734 people against 612,000. Density: Japan 326 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².