Madagascar vs Western Sahara
Madagascar is 2.21 times larger than Western Sahara. Western Sahara would fit into Madagascar about 2.2 times.
MadagascarWestern SaharaMadagascar moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
2.21×
Madagascar is 2.21× the area of Western Sahara.
| Madagascar | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 587,295 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 32,740,678 | 612,000 |
| Density | 56 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Antananarivo | — |
| Region | Eastern Africa | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 0 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Madagascar sits at about 19°S and is stretched to 1.12× 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 Madagascar bigger than Western Sahara?
- Yes. Madagascar is 2.21 times larger than Western Sahara. Madagascar covers 587,295 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Western Sahara fit into Madagascar?
- About 2.2 times: Madagascar has 2.21× the area of Western Sahara.
- Why do Madagascar and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Madagascar is drawn about 1.12× 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, Madagascar or Western Sahara?
- Madagascar: 32,740,678 people against 612,000. Density: Madagascar 56 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².