Portugal vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 2.88 times larger than Portugal. Portugal would fit into Western Sahara about 2.9 times.
PortugalWestern SaharaPortugal moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.35×
Portugal is 0.35× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 2.88× the size of Portugal.
| Portugal | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 92,225 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 10,804,871 | 612,000 |
| Density | 117 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Lisbon | — |
| Region | Southern Europe | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 1 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Portugal sits at about 40°N and is stretched to 1.68× 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 Portugal bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Portugal is 2.88 times smaller than Western Sahara. Portugal covers 92,225 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Portugal fit into Western Sahara?
- About 2.9 times: Western Sahara has 2.88× the area of Portugal.
- Why do Portugal and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Portugal is drawn about 1.68× 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, Portugal or Western Sahara?
- Portugal: 10,804,871 people against 612,000. Density: Portugal 117 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².