Uruguay vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 51% larger than Uruguay. Uruguay would fit into Western Sahara about 1.5 times.
UruguayWestern SaharaUruguay moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.66×
Uruguay is 0.66× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 1.51× the size of Uruguay.
| Uruguay | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 176,215 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 3,384,688 | 612,000 |
| Density | 19 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Montevideo | — |
| Region | South America | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Uruguay sits at about 33°S and is stretched to 1.42× 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 Uruguay bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Uruguay is 34% smaller than Western Sahara. Uruguay covers 176,215 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Uruguay fit into Western Sahara?
- About 1.5 times: Western Sahara has 1.51× the area of Uruguay.
- Why do Uruguay and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Uruguay is drawn about 1.42× 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, Uruguay or Western Sahara?
- Uruguay: 3,384,688 people against 612,000. Density: Uruguay 19 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².