Mali vs Niger
Niger and Mali are almost exactly the same size.
MaliNigerMali moved onto Niger · Equal-area projection
0.98×
Mali is 0.98× the area of Niger. Put the other way, Niger is 1.02× the size of Mali.
| Mali | Niger | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1,240,192 km² | 1,267,000 km² |
| Population | 25,198,821 | 27,917,831 |
| Density | 20 / km² | 22 / km² |
| Capital | Bamako | Niamey |
| Region | Western Africa | Western Africa |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Landlocked |
| Neighbours | 7 | 7 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Mali sits at about 17°N and is stretched to 1.1× its true area; Niger at 17° N is stretched to 1.1×. 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 Mali bigger than Niger?
- No. Mali and Niger are almost exactly the same size. Mali covers 1,240,192 km² and Niger covers 1,267,000 km².
- How many times does Mali fit into Niger?
- About 1.0 times: Niger has 1.02× the area of Mali.
- Why do Mali and Niger look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Mali is drawn about 1.1× its true area there and Niger about 1.1×. 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, Mali or Niger?
- Niger: 27,917,831 people against 25,198,821. Density: Mali 20 per km², Niger 22 per km².