Laos vs Somalia
Somalia is 2.69 times larger than Laos. Laos would fit into Somalia about 2.7 times.
LaosSomaliaLaos moved onto Somalia · Equal-area projection
0.37×
Laos is 0.37× the area of Somalia. Put the other way, Somalia is 2.69× the size of Laos.
| Laos | Somalia | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 236,800 km² | 637,657 km² |
| Population | 7,873,046 | 19,654,739 |
| Density | 33 / km² | 31 / km² |
| Capital | Vientiane | Mogadishu |
| Region | South-Eastern Asia | Eastern Africa |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 5 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Laos sits at about 18°N and is stretched to 1.11× its true area; Somalia at 5° N is stretched to 1.01×. 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 Laos bigger than Somalia?
- No. Laos is 2.69 times smaller than Somalia. Laos covers 236,800 km² and Somalia covers 637,657 km².
- How many times does Laos fit into Somalia?
- About 2.7 times: Somalia has 2.69× the area of Laos.
- Why do Laos and Somalia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Laos is drawn about 1.11× its true area there and Somalia about 1.01×. 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, Laos or Somalia?
- Somalia: 19,654,739 people against 7,873,046. Density: Laos 33 per km², Somalia 31 per km².