Libya and Iran are almost exactly the same size
Libya covers about 1,624,000 km² (627,000 mi²) and Iran about 1,623,000 km² (626,000 mi²). Their outlines are laid over each other below at one scale.
- 1,624,000km²Libya
- 1,623,000km²Iran
500 km
- Libya
- Iran
What fits
- Iran is 100% of the size of Libya.
- The measured areas differ by 1,250 km², less than half a percent: closer than the measurement itself is certain.
- Measured in Belgiums: Libya is about 52.9, Iran about 52.9.
How they differ
- Libya is larger, but Iran has the larger population: 92.4 million against 7.4 million, 12.5× as many people.
- Per square kilometre that is 57 in Iran against 4.5 in Libya: Iran is 12.5× as densely populated.
- Their centres are about 3,550 km apart.
- On a standard web map Iran looks larger than Libya: Libya at 27°N is drawn about 1.3× too large and Iran at 33°N about 1.4×, so the map shows Iran as 1.12× the size of Libya, when Libya is 1.00× the size of Iran.
- Together Libya and Iran cover 3,246,000 km², close to the size of India (3,151,000 km², 2.9% smaller).
- At Iran's density, Libya would have 92.5 million people (it has 7.4 million). At Libya's density, Iran would have 7.4 million (it has 92.4 million).
- Iran's centre is 5.5° of latitude, about 610 km, farther north than Libya's.
Who wins on what
| Measure | Winner | By |
|---|---|---|
| Larger area | Libya | 1.00× |
| More people | Iran | 12.5× |
| More crowded | Iran | 12.5× |
| Farther north | Iran | 5.5° of latitude |
| Stretched more on a web map | Iran | 1.4× against 1.3× |
Both against the same yardsticks
| Yardstick | Libya | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium 30,700 km² | 52.9× | 52.9× |
| United Kingdom 244,000 km² | 6.66× | 6.66× |
| Germany 358,000 km² | 4.54× | 4.54× |
| Japan 374,000 km² | 4.35× | 4.34× |
| France 548,000 km² | 2.96× | 2.96× |
| India 3,151,000 km² | 0.52× | 0.51× |
| Brazil 8,473,000 km² | 0.19× | 0.19× |
| United States 9,447,000 km² | 0.17× | 0.17× |
| Russia 16,980,000 km² | 0.10× | 0.10× |
Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.
Side by side
| Libya | Iran | |
|---|---|---|
| Area, main territory | 1,624,000 km²627,000 mi² | 1,623,000 km²626,000 mi² |
| Population | 7.4 millionWikidata, 2024 | 92.4 millionWikidata, 2025 |
| Density | 4.5 per km² | 57 per km² |
| Official area | 1,760,000 km²Wikidata | 1,648,000 km²Wikidata |
| Capital | Tripoli | Tehran |
| Latitude range | 19°N to 33°N | 25°N to 40°N |
| Continent | Africa | Asia |
Population: Wikidata 2024 and Wikidata 2025, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).
- Our measured 1,624,000 km² is 7.7% below Wikidata's official figure of 1,760,000 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently. This difference is flagged for review.
- Wikidata's official figure of 1,648,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 1,623,000 km², to within 2%.
Similar in size to Libya
Similar in size to Iran
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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