Laos vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 12% larger than Laos.
LaosWestern SaharaLaos moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.89×
Laos is 0.89× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 1.12× the size of Laos.
| Laos | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 236,800 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 7,873,046 | 612,000 |
| Density | 33 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Vientiane | — |
| Region | South-Eastern Asia | Northern 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; 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 Laos bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Laos is 11% smaller than Western Sahara. Laos covers 236,800 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Laos fit into Western Sahara?
- About 1.1 times: Western Sahara has 1.12× the area of Laos.
- Why do Laos and Western Sahara 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 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, Laos or Western Sahara?
- Laos: 7,873,046 people against 612,000. Density: Laos 33 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².