Vietnam vs Western Sahara

Vietnam is 25% larger than Western Sahara.

VietnamWestern SaharaVietnam moved onto Western Sahara · Equal-area projection
1.25×
Vietnam is 1.25× the area of Western Sahara.
VietnamWestern Sahara
Area331,690 km²266,000 km²
Population101,598,527612,000
Density306 / km²2.3 / km²
CapitalHanoi
RegionSouth-Eastern AsiaNorthern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours33

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Vietnam sits at about 17°N and is stretched to 1.09× 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 Vietnam bigger than Western Sahara?
Yes. Vietnam is 25% larger than Western Sahara. Vietnam covers 331,690 km² and Western Sahara covers 266,000 km².
How many times does Western Sahara fit into Vietnam?
About 1.2 times: Vietnam has 1.25× the area of Western Sahara.
Why do Vietnam and Western Sahara look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Vietnam is drawn about 1.09× 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, Vietnam or Western Sahara?
Vietnam: 101,598,527 people against 612,000. Density: Vietnam 306 per km², Western Sahara 2.3 per km².