Libya vs Western Sahara
Libya is 6.61 times larger than Western Sahara. Western Sahara would fit into Libya about 6.6 times.
LibyaWestern SaharaLibya moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
6.61×
Libya is 6.61× the area of Western Sahara.
| Libya | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1,759,541 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 7,458,555 | 612,000 |
| Density | 4.2 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Tripoli | — |
| Region | Northern Africa | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 6 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Libya sits at about 27°N and is stretched to 1.26× 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 Libya bigger than Western Sahara?
- Yes. Libya is 6.61 times larger than Western Sahara. Libya covers 1,759,541 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Western Sahara fit into Libya?
- About 6.6 times: Libya has 6.61× the area of Western Sahara.
- Why do Libya and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Libya is drawn about 1.26× 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, Libya or Western Sahara?
- Libya: 7,458,555 people against 612,000. Density: Libya 4.2 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².