North Korea vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 2.21 times larger than North Korea. North Korea would fit into Western Sahara about 2.2 times.
North KoreaWestern SaharaNorth Korea moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.45×
North Korea is 0.45× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 2.21× the size of North Korea.
| North Korea | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 120,540 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 26,571,036 | 612,000 |
| Density | 220 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Pyongyang | — |
| Region | Eastern Asia | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 3 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. North Korea sits at about 40°N and is stretched to 1.71× its true area; Western Sahara at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. That difference is why North Korea 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 North Korea bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. North Korea is 2.21 times smaller than Western Sahara. North Korea covers 120,540 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does North Korea fit into Western Sahara?
- About 2.2 times: Western Sahara has 2.21× the area of North Korea.
- Why do North Korea and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. North Korea is drawn about 1.71× its true area there and Western Sahara about 1.2×. That is why North Korea 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, North Korea or Western Sahara?
- North Korea: 26,571,036 people against 612,000. Density: North Korea 220 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².