Western Sahara vs Yemen
Yemen is 71% larger than Western Sahara. Western Sahara would fit into Yemen about 1.7 times.
Western SaharaYemenWestern Sahara moved onto Yemen · Equal-area projection
0.58×
Western Sahara is 0.58× the area of Yemen. Put the other way, Yemen is 1.71× the size of Western Sahara.
| Western Sahara | Yemen | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 266,000 km² | 455,503 km² |
| Population | 612,000 | 41,773,878 |
| Density | 2.3 / km² | 92 / km² |
| Capital | — | Sana'a |
| Region | Northern Africa | Western Asia |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 3 | 2 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Western Sahara sits at about 24°N and is stretched to 1.2× its true area; Yemen at 16° N is stretched to 1.08×. 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 Western Sahara bigger than Yemen?
- No. Western Sahara is 42% smaller than Yemen. Western Sahara covers 266,000 km² and Yemen covers 455,503 km².
- How many times does Western Sahara fit into Yemen?
- About 1.7 times: Yemen has 1.71× the area of Western Sahara.
- Why do Western Sahara and Yemen look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Western Sahara is drawn about 1.2× its true area there and Yemen about 1.08×. 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, Western Sahara or Yemen?
- Yemen: 41,773,878 people against 612,000. Density: Western Sahara 2.3 per km², Yemen 92 per km².