Suriname vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 63% larger than Suriname. Suriname would fit into Western Sahara about 1.6 times.
SurinameWestern SaharaSuriname moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.61×
Suriname is 0.61× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 1.63× the size of Suriname.
| Suriname | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 163,270 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 639,850 | 612,000 |
| Density | 3.9 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Paramaribo | — |
| Region | South America | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 3 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Suriname sits at about 4°N and is stretched to 1.01× 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 Suriname bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Suriname is 39% smaller than Western Sahara. Suriname covers 163,270 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Suriname fit into Western Sahara?
- About 1.6 times: Western Sahara has 1.63× the area of Suriname.
- Why do Suriname and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Suriname is drawn about 1.01× 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, Suriname or Western Sahara?
- Suriname: 639,850 people against 612,000. Density: Suriname 3.9 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².