Senegal vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 35% larger than Senegal.
SenegalWestern SaharaSenegal moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.74×
Senegal is 0.74× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 1.35× the size of Senegal.
| Senegal | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 196,722 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 18,931,966 | 612,000 |
| Density | 96 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Dakar | — |
| Region | Western Africa | 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. Senegal sits at about 14°N and is stretched to 1.07× 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 Senegal bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Senegal is 26% smaller than Western Sahara. Senegal covers 196,722 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Senegal fit into Western Sahara?
- About 1.4 times: Western Sahara has 1.35× the area of Senegal.
- Why do Senegal and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Senegal is drawn about 1.07× 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, Senegal or Western Sahara?
- Senegal: 18,931,966 people against 612,000. Density: Senegal 96 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².