France is 1.16× the size of Somalia

France covers about 548,000 km² (212,000 mi²) and Somalia about 472,000 km² (182,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

548,000km²France
472,000km²Somalia

200 km

France
Somalia

Outlines show main territory. France also has about 88,900 km² of overseas territory. These are not drawn, and not counted in the comparison.

What fits

Somalia is 86% of the size of France.
France is larger by 76,000 km² (29,400 mi²), which is 16% of the area of Somalia.
Measured in Belgiums: France is about 17.9, Somalia about 15.4.

How they differ

France also has the larger population: 68.6 million against 11.0 million, 6.22× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 108 in France against 23 in Somalia: France is 4.61× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 6,220 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: France at 47°N is drawn about 2.1× too large and Somalia at 5°N about 1.0×, so the map shows France as 2.43× the size of Somalia instead of 1.16×.
Together France and Somalia cover 1,020,000 km², close to the size of Mauritania (1,036,000 km², 1.6% bigger).
The gap between them, 76,000 km², is about the size of Panama (74,500 km²).
At Somalia's density, France would have 14.9 million people (it has 68.6 million). At France's density, Somalia would have 50.8 million (it has 11.0 million).
France's centre is 41.8° of latitude, about 4,640 km, farther north than Somalia's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	France	1.16×
More people	France	6.22×
More crowded	France	4.61×
Farther north	France	41.8° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	France	2.1× against 1.0×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	France	Somalia
Belgium 30,700 km²	17.9×	15.4×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	2.25×	1.94×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.53×	1.32×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.47×	1.26×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.17×	0.15×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.06×	0.06×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.06×	0.05×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.03×	0.03×

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

Side by side

	France	Somalia
Area, main territory	548,000 km²212,000 mi²	472,000 km²182,000 mi²
Area with overseas territory	637,000 km²	472,000 km²
Population	68.6 millionWikidata, 2025	11.0 millionWikidata, 2017
Density	108 per km²	23 per km²
Official area	644,000 km²Wikidata	638,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Paris	Mogadishu
Latitude range	41°N to 51°N	2°S to 12°N
Continent	Europe	Africa

Population: Wikidata 2025 and Wikidata 2017, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 644,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 637,000 km², to within 2%.
Our measured 472,000 km² is 26% below Wikidata's official figure of 638,000 km². The official figure includes Somaliland, which Natural Earth draws as a separate place; together they measure 639,000 km².

Similar in size to France

Similar in size to Somalia

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