Kuwait vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 14.9 times larger than Kuwait. Kuwait would fit into Western Sahara about 15 times.
KuwaitWestern SaharaKuwait moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.07×
Kuwait is 0.07× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 14.9× the size of Kuwait.
| Kuwait | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 17,818 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 4,865,298 | 612,000 |
| Density | 273 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Kuwait City | — |
| Region | Western Asia | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Kuwait sits at about 29°N and is stretched to 1.32× 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 Kuwait bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Kuwait is 14.9 times smaller than Western Sahara. Kuwait covers 17,818 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Kuwait fit into Western Sahara?
- About 15 times: Western Sahara has 14.9× the area of Kuwait.
- Why do Kuwait and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Kuwait is drawn about 1.32× 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, Kuwait or Western Sahara?
- Kuwait: 4,865,298 people against 612,000. Density: Kuwait 273 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².