Lesotho vs New Zealand
New Zealand is 8.83 times larger than Lesotho. Lesotho would fit into New Zealand about 8.8 times.
LesothoNew ZealandLesotho moved onto New Zealand · Equal-area projection
0.11×
Lesotho is 0.11× the area of New Zealand. Put the other way, New Zealand is 8.83× the size of Lesotho.
| Lesotho | New Zealand | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 30,355 km² | 268,021 km² |
| Population | 2,363,325 | 5,324,700 |
| Density | 78 / km² | 20 / km² |
| Capital | Maseru | Wellington |
| Region | Southern Africa | Australia and New Zealand |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 1 | 0 |
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; New Zealand at 42° S is stretched to 1.79×. 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 New Zealand?
- No. Lesotho is 8.83 times smaller than New Zealand. Lesotho covers 30,355 km² and New Zealand covers 268,021 km².
- How many times does Lesotho fit into New Zealand?
- About 8.8 times: New Zealand has 8.83× the area of Lesotho.
- Why do Lesotho and New Zealand 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 New Zealand about 1.79×. 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 New Zealand?
- New Zealand: 5,324,700 people against 2,363,325. Density: Lesotho 78 per km², New Zealand 20 per km².