Saudi Arabia vs Western Sahara
Saudi Arabia is 8.46 times larger than Western Sahara. Western Sahara would fit into Saudi Arabia about 8.5 times.
Saudi ArabiaWestern SaharaSaudi Arabia moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
8.46×
Saudi Arabia is 8.46× the area of Western Sahara.
| Saudi Arabia | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 2,250,000 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 36,973,555 | 612,000 |
| Density | 16 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Riyadh | — |
| Region | Western Asia | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 7 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Saudi Arabia sits at about 24°N and is stretched to 1.2× 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 Saudi Arabia bigger than Western Sahara?
- Yes. Saudi Arabia is 8.46 times larger than Western Sahara. Saudi Arabia covers 2,250,000 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Western Sahara fit into Saudi Arabia?
- About 8.5 times: Saudi Arabia has 8.46× the area of Western Sahara.
- Why do Saudi Arabia and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Saudi Arabia is drawn about 1.2× 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, Saudi Arabia or Western Sahara?
- Saudi Arabia: 36,973,555 people against 612,000. Density: Saudi Arabia 16 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².