Paraguay vs Western Sahara

Paraguay is 53% larger than Western Sahara. Western Sahara would fit into Paraguay about 1.5 times.

ParaguayWestern SaharaParaguay moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
1.53×
Paraguay is 1.53× the area of Western Sahara.
ParaguayWestern Sahara
Area406,756 km²266,000 km²
Population7,013,078612,000
Density17 / km²2.3 / km²
CapitalAsuncion
RegionSouth AmericaNorthern Africa
CoastlineLandlockedHas a coast
Neighbours33

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Paraguay sits at about 23°S and is stretched to 1.18× 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 Paraguay bigger than Western Sahara?
Yes. Paraguay is 53% larger than Western Sahara. Paraguay covers 406,756 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
How many times does Western Sahara fit into Paraguay?
About 1.5 times: Paraguay has 1.53× the area of Western Sahara.
Why do Paraguay and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Paraguay is drawn about 1.18× 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, Paraguay or Western Sahara?
Paraguay: 7,013,078 people against 612,000. Density: Paraguay 17 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².