Iraq is 1.09× the size of Paraguay

Iraq covers about 437,000 km² (169,000 mi²) and Paraguay about 400,000 km² (154,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

437,000km²Iraq
400,000km²Paraguay

200 km

Iraq
Paraguay

What fits

Paraguay is 91% of the size of Iraq.
Iraq is larger by 37,500 km² (14,500 mi²), which is 9.4% of the area of Paraguay.
Measured in Belgiums: Iraq is about 14.3, Paraguay about 13.0.

How they differ

Iraq also has the larger population: 38.3 million against 6.8 million, 5.62× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 88 in Iraq against 17 in Paraguay: Iraq is 5.14× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 12,500 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: Iraq at 33°N is drawn about 1.4× too large and Paraguay at 23°S about 1.2×, so the map shows Iraq as 1.31× the size of Paraguay instead of 1.09×.
Together Iraq and Paraguay cover 837,000 km², close to the size of Namibia (823,000 km², 1.7% smaller).
The gap between them, 37,500 km², is about the size of Netherlands (37,100 km²).
At Paraguay's density, Iraq would have 7.4 million people (it has 38.3 million). At Iraq's density, Paraguay would have 35.0 million (it has 6.8 million).
Iraq's centre is 56.2° of latitude, about 6,250 km, farther north than Paraguay's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Iraq	1.09×
More people	Iraq	5.62×
More crowded	Iraq	5.14×
Farther north	Iraq	56.2° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Iraq	1.4× against 1.2×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Iraq	Paraguay
Belgium 30,700 km²	14.3×	13.0×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	1.79×	1.64×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.22×	1.12×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.17×	1.07×
France 548,000 km²	0.80×	0.73×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.14×	0.13×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.05×	0.05×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.05×	0.04×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.03×	0.02×

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

Side by side

	Iraq	Paraguay
Area, main territory	437,000 km²169,000 mi²	400,000 km²154,000 mi²
Population	38.3 millionWikidata, 2017	6.8 millionWikidata, 2017
Density	88 per km²	17 per km²
Official area	437,000 km²Wikidata	407,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Baghdad	Asunción
Latitude range	29°N to 37°N	28°S to 19°S
Continent	Asia	South America

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

Wikidata's official figure of 437,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 437,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 407,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 400,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Iraq

Similar in size to Paraguay

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