Romania vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 12% larger than Romania.
RomaniaWestern SaharaRomania moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.9×
Romania is 0.9× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 1.12× the size of Romania.
| Romania | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 238,397 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 19,020,271 | 612,000 |
| Density | 80 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Bucharest | — |
| Region | Eastern Europe | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 5 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Romania sits at about 46°N and is stretched to 2.06× its true area; Western Sahara at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. That difference is why Romania 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 Romania bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Romania is 10% smaller than Western Sahara. Romania covers 238,397 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Romania fit into Western Sahara?
- About 1.1 times: Western Sahara has 1.12× the area of Romania.
- Why do Romania and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Romania is drawn about 2.06× its true area there and Western Sahara about 1.2×. That is why Romania 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, Romania or Western Sahara?
- Romania: 19,020,271 people against 612,000. Density: Romania 80 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².