Philippines vs Western Sahara

Philippines is 29% larger than Western Sahara.

PhilippinesWestern SaharaPhilippines moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
1.29×
Philippines is 1.29× the area of Western Sahara.
PhilippinesWestern Sahara
Area343,448 km²266,000 km²
Population116,786,962612,000
Density340 / km²2.3 / km²
CapitalManila
RegionSouth-Eastern AsiaNorthern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours03

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Philippines sits at about 12°N and is stretched to 1.04× 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 Philippines bigger than Western Sahara?
Yes. Philippines is 29% larger than Western Sahara. Philippines covers 343,448 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
How many times does Western Sahara fit into Philippines?
About 1.3 times: Philippines has 1.29× the area of Western Sahara.
Why do Philippines and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Philippines is drawn about 1.04× 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, Philippines or Western Sahara?
Philippines: 116,786,962 people against 612,000. Density: Philippines 340 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².