Mauritania is 1.89× the size of France

Mauritania covers about 1,036,000 km² (400,000 mi²) and France about 548,000 km² (212,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

1,036,000km²Mauritania
548,000km²France

200 km

Mauritania
France

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

France is 53% of the size of Mauritania.
Mauritania is larger by 489,000 km² (189,000 mi²), which is 89% of the area of France.
Measured in Belgiums: Mauritania is about 33.8, France about 17.9.

How they differ

Mauritania is larger, but France has the larger population: 68.6 million against 4.7 million, 14.5× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 108 in France against 4.6 in Mauritania: France is 23.6× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 3,150 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: Mauritania at 20°N is drawn about 1.1× too large and France at 47°N about 2.1×, so the map shows Mauritania as 1.02× the size of France instead of 1.89×.
Together Mauritania and France cover 1,584,000 km², close to the size of Mongolia (1,565,000 km², 1.2% smaller).
The gap between them, 489,000 km², is about the size of Spain (499,000 km²).
At France's density, Mauritania would have 111.7 million people (it has 4.7 million). At Mauritania's density, France would have 2.9 million (it has 68.6 million).
France's centre is 26.3° of latitude, about 2,920 km, farther north than Mauritania's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Mauritania	1.89×
More people	France	14.5×
More crowded	France	23.6×
Farther north	France	26.3° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	France	2.1× against 1.1×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Mauritania	France
Belgium 30,700 km²	33.8×	17.9×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	4.25×	2.25×
Germany 358,000 km²	2.90×	1.53×
Japan 374,000 km²	2.77×	1.47×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.33×	0.17×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.12×	0.06×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.11×	0.06×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.06×	0.03×

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

Side by side

	Mauritania	France
Area, main territory	1,036,000 km²400,000 mi²	548,000 km²212,000 mi²
Area with overseas territory	1,036,000 km²	637,000 km²
Population	4.7 millionWikidata, 2022	68.6 millionWikidata, 2025
Density	4.6 per km²	108 per km²
Official area	1,031,000 km²Wikidata	644,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Nouakchott	Paris
Latitude range	15°N to 27°N	41°N to 51°N
Continent	Africa	Europe

Population: Wikidata 2022 and Wikidata 2025, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 1,031,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 1,036,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 644,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 637,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Mauritania

Similar in size to France

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