South Korea vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 2.65 times larger than South Korea. South Korea would fit into Western Sahara about 2.7 times.
South KoreaWestern SaharaSouth Korea moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.38×
South Korea is 0.38× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 2.65× the size of South Korea.
| South Korea | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 100,295 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 51,684,564 | 612,000 |
| Density | 515 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Seoul | — |
| Region | Eastern Asia | 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. South Korea sits at about 36°N and is stretched to 1.54× 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 South Korea bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. South Korea is 2.65 times smaller than Western Sahara. South Korea covers 100,295 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does South Korea fit into Western Sahara?
- About 2.7 times: Western Sahara has 2.65× the area of South Korea.
- Why do South Korea and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. South Korea is drawn about 1.54× 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, South Korea or Western Sahara?
- South Korea: 51,684,564 people against 612,000. Density: South Korea 515 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².