Afghanistan is 1.04× the size of Central African Republic

Afghanistan covers about 642,000 km² (248,000 mi²) and Central African Republic about 618,000 km² (239,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

642,000km²Afghanistan
618,000km²Central African Republic

500 km

Afghanistan
Central African Republic

What fits

Central African Republic is 96% of the size of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is larger by 24,200 km² (9,340 mi²), which is 3.9% of the area of Central African Republic.
Measured in Belgiums: Afghanistan is about 20.9, Central African Republic about 20.1.

How they differ

Afghanistan also has the larger population: 41.5 million against 5.2 million, 8.05× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 65 in Afghanistan against 8.3 in Central African Republic: Afghanistan is 7.74× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 5,560 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: Afghanistan at 34°N is drawn about 1.4× too large and Central African Republic at 7°N about 1.0×, so the map shows Afghanistan as 1.49× the size of Central African Republic instead of 1.04×.
Together Afghanistan and Central African Republic cover 1,260,000 km², close to the size of Chad (1,266,000 km², 0.5% bigger).
The gap between them, 24,200 km², is about the size of Rwanda (25,300 km²).
At Central African Republic's density, Afghanistan would have 5.4 million people (it has 41.5 million). At Afghanistan's density, Central African Republic would have 39.9 million (it has 5.2 million).
Afghanistan's centre is 27.3° of latitude, about 3,030 km, farther north than Central African Republic's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Afghanistan	1.04×
More people	Afghanistan	8.05×
More crowded	Afghanistan	7.74×
Farther north	Afghanistan	27.3° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Afghanistan	1.4× against 1.0×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Afghanistan	Central African Republic
Belgium 30,700 km²	20.9×	20.1×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	2.63×	2.53×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.80×	1.73×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.72×	1.65×
France 548,000 km²	1.17×	1.13×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.20×	0.20×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.08×	0.07×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.07×	0.07×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.04×	0.04×

Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.

Side by side

	Afghanistan	Central African Republic
Area, main territory	642,000 km²248,000 mi²	618,000 km²239,000 mi²
Population	41.5 millionWikidata, 2023	5.2 millionWikidata, 2023
Density	65 per km²	8.3 per km²
Official area	652,000 km²Wikidata	623,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Kabul	Bangui
Latitude range	29°N to 38°N	2°N to 11°N
Continent	Asia	Africa

Population: Wikidata 2023, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 652,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 642,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 623,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 618,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Afghanistan

Similar in size to Central African Republic

More comparisons

Sources and method

Outlines: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth. Main territory: the largest landmass and every part within 1,000 km of it.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded. Comparisons use main-territory area.
Drawing: Each outline is projected with an equal-area projection centred on its own centroid, so areas stay true and the two can be laid over each other.
Data built: 2026-11-11

Full method