Malta vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 842 times larger than Malta. Malta would fit into Western Sahara about 842 times.
MaltaWestern SaharaMalta moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.0×
Malta is 0.0× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 842× the size of Malta.
| Malta | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 316 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 579,704 | 612,000 |
| Density | 1,835 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Valletta | — |
| Region | Southern Europe | 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. Malta sits at about 36°N and is stretched to 1.52× 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 Malta bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Malta is 842 times smaller than Western Sahara. Malta covers 316 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Malta fit into Western Sahara?
- About 842 times: Western Sahara has 842× the area of Malta.
- Why do Malta and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Malta is drawn about 1.52× 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, Malta or Western Sahara?
- Western Sahara: 612,000 people against 579,704. Density: Malta 1,835 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².