Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur is 1.04× the size of Lesotho

Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (region of France) covers about 31,300 km² (12,100 mi²) and Lesotho (Africa) about 30,100 km² (11,600 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

31,300km²Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
30,100km²Lesotho

50 km

Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
Lesotho

What fits

Lesotho is 96% of the size of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur is larger by 1,240 km² (478 mi²), which is 4.1% of the area of Lesotho.
Measured in Belgiums: Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur is about 1.02, Lesotho about 0.98.

How they differ

Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur also has the larger population: 5.2 million against 2.0 million, 2.58× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 165 in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur against 67 in Lesotho: Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur is 2.47× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 8,480 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur at 44°N is drawn about 1.9× too large and Lesotho at 30°S about 1.3×, so the map shows Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur as 1.52× the size of Lesotho instead of 1.04×.
Together Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Lesotho cover 61,500 km², close to the size of Latvia (64,600 km², 5.1% bigger).
The gap between them, 1,240 km², is about the size of São Tomé and Príncipe (1,040 km²).
At Lesotho's density, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur would have 2.1 million people (it has 5.2 million). At Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur's density, Lesotho would have 5.0 million (it has 2.0 million).
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur's centre is 73.5° of latitude, about 8,180 km, farther north than Lesotho's.
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur is the 10th largest of the 18 regions of France and covers 4.9% of its area; it is the 7th most densely populated of them.
Lesotho ranks 142nd of 246 countries and territories by area.
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur lies about 74° of latitude (roughly 8,180 km) north of Lesotho, on the other side of the equator.
Shared out evenly, each person in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur would have about 6,060 m² and each person in Lesotho about 15,000 m².
Laid side by side, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Lesotho would cover 61,500 km², 95% of the size of Latvia.
Together they have 7.2 million people, about as many people as Kyrgyzstan.
Counted as a country, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur would rank 140th by area and 122nd by population.

Side by side

	Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur	Lesotho
Is a	RegionFrance	CountryAfrica
Area, measured	31,300 km²12,100 mi²	30,100 km²11,600 mi²
Official area	31,400 km²Wikidata	30,400 km²Wikidata
Rank by area	10th of 18in France	141st of 239worldwide
Population	5.2 millionWikidata, 2022	2.0 millionWikidata, 2016
Rank by population	7th of 18in France	148th of 237worldwide
Density	165 per km²	67 per km²
Capital	Marseille	Maseru
Latitude range	43°N to 45°N	31°S to 29°S

Population: Wikidata 2022 and Wikidata 2016. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 31,400 km² agrees with our measured area of 31,300 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 30,400 km² agrees with our measured area of 30,100 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

Similar in size to Lesotho

More comparisons

Sources and method

Outlines: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 1 - States, Provinces, public domain for the region; Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain. The outline of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur is the departments Natural Earth draws there, joined along their shared borders.
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth. A region is drawn whole, every island included; a country is its main territory.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded.
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: 2026-11-12

Full method