Moldova vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 7.86 times larger than Moldova. Moldova would fit into Western Sahara about 7.9 times.
MoldovaWestern SaharaMoldova moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.13×
Moldova is 0.13× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 7.86× the size of Moldova.
| Moldova | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 33,844 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 2,360,527 | 612,000 |
| Density | 70 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Chisinau | — |
| Region | Eastern Europe | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Moldova sits at about 47°N and is stretched to 2.17× its true area; Western Sahara at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. That difference is why Moldova looks so much bigger than it is next to Western Sahara. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Moldova bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Moldova is 7.86 times smaller than Western Sahara. Moldova covers 33,844 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Moldova fit into Western Sahara?
- About 7.9 times: Western Sahara has 7.86× the area of Moldova.
- Why do Moldova and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Moldova is drawn about 2.17× its true area there and Western Sahara about 1.2×. That is why Moldova looks so much bigger than it really is next to Western Sahara. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Moldova or Western Sahara?
- Moldova: 2,360,527 people against 612,000. Density: Moldova 70 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².