Kenya is 1.17× the size of Spain

Kenya covers about 586,000 km² (226,000 mi²) and Spain about 499,000 km² (193,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

586,000km²Kenya
499,000km²Spain

200 km

Kenya
Spain

Outlines show main territory. Spain also has about 7,440 km² of overseas territory. These are not drawn, and not counted in the comparison.

What fits

Spain is 85% of the size of Kenya.
Kenya is larger by 86,300 km² (33,300 mi²), which is 17% of the area of Spain.
Measured in Belgiums: Kenya is about 19.1, Spain about 16.3.

How they differ

Kenya is larger, but Spain has the larger population: 48.6 million against 48.5 million, 1.00× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 96 in Spain against 83 in Kenya: Spain is 1.16× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 6,080 km apart.
On a standard web map Spain looks larger than Kenya: Kenya at 1°N is drawn about 1.0× too large and Spain at 40°N about 1.7×, so the map shows Spain as 1.47× the size of Kenya, when Kenya is 1.17× the size of Spain.
Together Kenya and Spain cover 1,085,000 km², close to the size of Bolivia (1,087,000 km², 0.2% bigger).
The gap between them, 86,300 km², is about the size of Azerbaijan (86,200 km²).
At Spain's density, Kenya would have 56.1 million people (it has 48.5 million). At Kenya's density, Spain would have 41.9 million (it has 48.6 million).
Spain's centre is 39.8° of latitude, about 4,430 km, farther north than Kenya's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Kenya	1.17×
More people	Spain	1.00×
More crowded	Spain	1.16×
Farther north	Spain	39.8° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Spain	1.7× against 1.0×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Kenya	Spain
Belgium 30,700 km²	19.1×	16.3×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	2.40×	2.05×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.64×	1.40×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.57×	1.34×
France 548,000 km²	1.07×	0.91×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.19×	0.16×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.07×	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

	Kenya	Spain
Area, main territory	586,000 km²226,000 mi²	499,000 km²193,000 mi²
Area with overseas territory	586,000 km²	507,000 km²
Population	48.5 millionWikidata, 2017	48.6 millionWikidata, 2024
Density	83 per km²	96 per km²
Official area	581,000 km²Wikidata	506,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Nairobi	Madrid
Latitude range	5°S to 5°N	35°N to 44°N
Continent	Africa	Europe

Population: Wikidata 2017 and Wikidata 2024, 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 506,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 507,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Kenya

Similar in size to Spain

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