Somalia is 1.04× the size of Yemen

Somalia covers about 472,000 km² (182,000 mi²) and Yemen about 453,000 km² (175,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

472,000km²Somalia
453,000km²Yemen

200 km

Somalia
Yemen

What fits

Yemen is 96% of the size of Somalia.
Somalia is larger by 18,700 km² (7,240 mi²), which is 4.1% of the area of Yemen.
Measured in Belgiums: Somalia is about 15.4, Yemen about 14.8.

How they differ

Somalia is larger, but Yemen has the larger population: 28.3 million against 11.0 million, 2.56× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 62 in Yemen against 23 in Somalia: Yemen is 2.67× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 1,260 km apart.
On a standard web map Yemen looks larger than Somalia: Somalia at 5°N is drawn about 1.0× too large and Yemen at 16°N about 1.1×, so the map shows Yemen as 1.03× the size of Somalia, when Somalia is 1.04× the size of Yemen.
Together Somalia and Yemen cover 925,000 km², close to the size of Venezuela (913,000 km², 1.3% smaller).
The gap between them, 18,700 km², is about the size of Fiji (18,900 km²).
At Yemen's density, Somalia would have 29.4 million people (it has 11.0 million). At Somalia's density, Yemen would have 10.6 million (it has 28.3 million).
Yemen's centre is 11.2° of latitude, about 1,240 km, farther north than Somalia's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Somalia	1.04×
More people	Yemen	2.56×
More crowded	Yemen	2.67×
Farther north	Yemen	11.2° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Yemen	1.1× against 1.0×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Somalia	Yemen
Belgium 30,700 km²	15.4×	14.8×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	1.94×	1.86×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.32×	1.27×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.26×	1.21×
France 548,000 km²	0.86×	0.83×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.15×	0.14×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.06×	0.05×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.05×	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

	Somalia	Yemen
Area, main territory	472,000 km²182,000 mi²	453,000 km²175,000 mi²
Population	11.0 millionWikidata, 2017	28.3 millionWikidata, 2017
Density	23 per km²	62 per km²
Official area	638,000 km²Wikidata	456,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Mogadishu	Sanaa; Aden
Latitude range	2°S to 12°N	12°N to 19°N
Continent	Africa	Asia

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

Our measured 472,000 km² is 26% below Wikidata's official figure of 638,000 km². The official figure includes Somaliland, which Natural Earth draws as a separate place; together they measure 639,000 km².
Wikidata's official figure of 456,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 453,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Somalia

Similar in size to Yemen

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