Laos vs Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is 65% larger than Laos. Laos would fit into Zimbabwe about 1.7 times.
LaosZimbabweLaos moved onto Zimbabwe · Equal-area projection
0.61×
Laos is 0.61× the area of Zimbabwe. Put the other way, Zimbabwe is 1.65× the size of Laos.
| Laos | Zimbabwe | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 236,800 km² | 390,757 km² |
| Population | 7,873,046 | 16,950,795 |
| Density | 33 / km² | 43 / km² |
| Capital | Vientiane | Harare |
| Region | South-Eastern Asia | Eastern Africa |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Landlocked |
| Neighbours | 5 | 4 |
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; Zimbabwe at 19° S is stretched to 1.12×. 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 Zimbabwe?
- No. Laos is 39% smaller than Zimbabwe. Laos covers 236,800 km² and Zimbabwe covers 390,757 km².
- How many times does Laos fit into Zimbabwe?
- About 1.7 times: Zimbabwe has 1.65× the area of Laos.
- Why do Laos and Zimbabwe 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 Zimbabwe about 1.12×. 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 Zimbabwe?
- Zimbabwe: 16,950,795 people against 7,873,046. Density: Laos 33 per km², Zimbabwe 43 per km².