Timor-Leste vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 17.8 times larger than Timor-Leste. Timor-Leste would fit into Western Sahara about 18 times.
Timor-LesteWestern SaharaTimor-Leste moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.06×
Timor-Leste is 0.06× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 17.8× the size of Timor-Leste.
| Timor-Leste | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 14,919 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 1,418,517 | 612,000 |
| Density | 95 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Dili | — |
| Region | South-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. Timor-Leste sits at about 9°S and is stretched to 1.02× 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 Timor-Leste bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Timor-Leste is 17.8 times smaller than Western Sahara. Timor-Leste covers 14,919 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Timor-Leste fit into Western Sahara?
- About 18 times: Western Sahara has 17.8× the area of Timor-Leste.
- Why do Timor-Leste and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Timor-Leste is drawn about 1.02× 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, Timor-Leste or Western Sahara?
- Timor-Leste: 1,418,517 people against 612,000. Density: Timor-Leste 95 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².