Kenya is 1.01× the size of Botswana

Kenya covers about 586,000 km² (226,000 mi²) and Botswana about 579,000 km² (224,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

586,000km²Kenya
579,000km²Botswana

200 km

Kenya
Botswana

What fits

Botswana is 99% of the size of Kenya.
Kenya is larger by 6,670 km² (2,580 mi²), which is 1.2% of the area of Botswana.
Measured in Belgiums: Kenya is about 19.1, Botswana about 18.9.

How they differ

Kenya also has the larger population: 48.5 million against 2.5 million, 19.5× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 83 in Kenya against 4.3 in Botswana: Kenya is 19.3× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 2,950 km apart.
On a standard web map Botswana looks larger than Kenya: Kenya at 1°N is drawn about 1.0× too large and Botswana at 22°S about 1.2×, so the map shows Botswana as 1.15× the size of Kenya, when Kenya is 1.01× the size of Botswana.
Together Kenya and Botswana cover 1,165,000 km², close to the size of Niger (1,181,000 km², 1.4% bigger).
The gap between them, 6,670 km², is about the size of Palestine (6,070 km²).
At Botswana's density, Kenya would have 2.5 million people (it has 48.5 million). At Kenya's density, Botswana would have 47.9 million (it has 2.5 million).
Kenya's centre is 22.7° of latitude, about 2,530 km, farther north than Botswana's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Kenya	1.01×
More people	Kenya	19.5×
More crowded	Kenya	19.3×
Farther north	Kenya	22.7° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Botswana	1.2× against 1.0×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Kenya	Botswana
Belgium 30,700 km²	19.1×	18.9×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	2.40×	2.38×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.64×	1.62×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.57×	1.55×
France 548,000 km²	1.07×	1.06×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.19×	0.18×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.07×	0.07×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.06×	0.06×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.03×	0.03×

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

Side by side

	Kenya	Botswana
Area, main territory	586,000 km²226,000 mi²	579,000 km²224,000 mi²
Population	48.5 millionWikidata, 2017	2.5 millionWikidata, 2023
Density	83 per km²	4.3 per km²
Official area	581,000 km²Wikidata	582,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Nairobi	Gaborone
Latitude range	5°S to 5°N	27°S to 18°S
Continent	Africa	Africa

Population: Wikidata 2017 and Wikidata 2023, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 581,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 586,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 582,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 579,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Kenya

Similar in size to Botswana

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