Morocco vs Western Sahara
Morocco is 68% larger than Western Sahara. Western Sahara would fit into Morocco about 1.7 times.
MoroccoWestern SaharaMorocco moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
1.68×
Morocco is 1.68× the area of Western Sahara.
| Morocco | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 446,550 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 38,430,770 | 612,000 |
| Density | 86 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Rabat | — |
| Region | Northern Africa | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | 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. Morocco sits at about 30°N and is stretched to 1.33× 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 Morocco bigger than Western Sahara?
- Yes. Morocco is 68% larger than Western Sahara. Morocco covers 446,550 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Western Sahara fit into Morocco?
- About 1.7 times: Morocco has 1.68× the area of Western Sahara.
- Why do Morocco and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Morocco is drawn about 1.33× 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, Morocco or Western Sahara?
- Morocco: 38,430,770 people against 612,000. Density: Morocco 86 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².