Lesotho vs Malawi
Malawi is 3.9 times larger than Lesotho. Lesotho would fit into Malawi about 3.9 times.
LesothoMalawiLesotho moved onto Malawi · Equal-area projection
0.26×
Lesotho is 0.26× the area of Malawi. Put the other way, Malawi is 3.9× the size of Lesotho.
| Lesotho | Malawi | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 30,355 km² | 118,484 km² |
| Population | 2,363,325 | 22,216,120 |
| Density | 78 / km² | 188 / km² |
| Capital | Maseru | Lilongwe |
| Region | Southern Africa | Eastern Africa |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Landlocked |
| Neighbours | 1 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Lesotho sits at about 30°S and is stretched to 1.32× its true area; Malawi at 13° S is stretched to 1.06×. 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 Lesotho bigger than Malawi?
- No. Lesotho is 3.9 times smaller than Malawi. Lesotho covers 30,355 km² and Malawi covers 118,484 km².
- How many times does Lesotho fit into Malawi?
- About 3.9 times: Malawi has 3.9× the area of Lesotho.
- Why do Lesotho and Malawi look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Lesotho is drawn about 1.32× its true area there and Malawi about 1.06×. 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, Lesotho or Malawi?
- Malawi: 22,216,120 people against 2,363,325. Density: Lesotho 78 per km², Malawi 188 per km².