Malawi vs Sierra Leone
Malawi is 65% larger than Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone would fit into Malawi about 1.7 times.
MalawiSierra LeoneMalawi moved onto Sierra Leone · Equal-area projection
1.65×
Malawi is 1.65× the area of Sierra Leone.
| Malawi | Sierra Leone | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 118,484 km² | 71,740 km² |
| Population | 22,216,120 | 8,819,794 |
| Density | 188 / km² | 123 / km² |
| Capital | Lilongwe | Freetown |
| Region | Eastern Africa | Western Africa |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 3 | 2 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Malawi sits at about 13°S and is stretched to 1.06× its true area; Sierra Leone at 9° N is stretched to 1.02×. 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 Malawi bigger than Sierra Leone?
- Yes. Malawi is 65% larger than Sierra Leone. Malawi covers 118,484 km² and Sierra Leone covers 71,740 km².
- How many times does Sierra Leone fit into Malawi?
- About 1.7 times: Malawi has 1.65× the area of Sierra Leone.
- Why do Malawi and Sierra Leone look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Malawi is drawn about 1.06× its true area there and Sierra Leone about 1.02×. 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, Malawi or Sierra Leone?
- Malawi: 22,216,120 people against 8,819,794. Density: Malawi 188 per km², Sierra Leone 123 per km².