Turkmenistan vs Western Sahara
Turkmenistan is 85% larger than Western Sahara. Western Sahara would fit into Turkmenistan about 1.8 times.
TurkmenistanWestern SaharaTurkmenistan moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
1.85×
Turkmenistan is 1.85× the area of Western Sahara.
| Turkmenistan | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 491,210 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 7,618,847 | 612,000 |
| Density | 16 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Ashgabat | — |
| Region | Central Asia | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 4 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Turkmenistan sits at about 39°N and is stretched to 1.66× 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 Turkmenistan bigger than Western Sahara?
- Yes. Turkmenistan is 85% larger than Western Sahara. Turkmenistan covers 491,210 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Western Sahara fit into Turkmenistan?
- About 1.8 times: Turkmenistan has 1.85× the area of Western Sahara.
- Why do Turkmenistan and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Turkmenistan is drawn about 1.66× 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, Turkmenistan or Western Sahara?
- Turkmenistan: 7,618,847 people against 612,000. Density: Turkmenistan 16 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².