Vanuatu vs Western Sahara
Western Sahara is 21.8 times larger than Vanuatu. Vanuatu would fit into Western Sahara about 22 times.
VanuatuWestern SaharaVanuatu moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
0.05×
Vanuatu is 0.05× the area of Western Sahara. Put the other way, Western Sahara is 21.8× the size of Vanuatu.
| Vanuatu | Western Sahara | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 12,190 km² | 266,000 km² |
| Population | 335,169 | 612,000 |
| Density | 27 / km² | 2.3 / km² |
| Capital | Port-Vila | — |
| Region | Melanesia | Northern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 0 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Vanuatu sits at about 16°S and is stretched to 1.08× 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 Vanuatu bigger than Western Sahara?
- No. Vanuatu is 21.8 times smaller than Western Sahara. Vanuatu covers 12,190 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
- How many times does Vanuatu fit into Western Sahara?
- About 22 times: Western Sahara has 21.8× the area of Vanuatu.
- Why do Vanuatu and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Vanuatu is drawn about 1.08× 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, Vanuatu or Western Sahara?
- Western Sahara: 612,000 people against 335,169. Density: Vanuatu 27 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².