Nicaragua vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 2.21 times larger than Nicaragua. Nicaragua would fit into Western Sahara about 2.2 times.
NicaraguaWestern SaharaNicaragua moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.45×
Nicaragua is 0.45× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 2.21× the size of Nicaragua.
| Nicaragua | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 120,340 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 7,007,502 | 612,000 |
| Density | 58 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Managua | — |
| Region | Central America | 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. Nicaragua sits at about 13°N and is stretched to 1.05× 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 Nicaragua bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Nicaragua is 2.21 times smaller than Western Sahara. Nicaragua covers 120,340 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Nicaragua fit into Western Sahara?
- About 2.2 times: Western Sahara has 2.21× the area of Nicaragua.
- Why do Nicaragua and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Nicaragua is drawn about 1.05× 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, Nicaragua or Western Sahara?
- Nicaragua: 7,007,502 people against 612,000. Density: Nicaragua 58 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².