South Sudan is 1.26× the size of Spain

South Sudan covers about 627,000 km² (242,000 mi²) and Spain about 499,000 km² (193,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

627,000km²South Sudan
499,000km²Spain

200 km

South Sudan
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 80% of the size of South Sudan.
South Sudan is larger by 127,000 km² (49,200 mi²), which is 26% of the area of Spain.
Measured in Belgiums: South Sudan is about 20.4, Spain about 16.3.

How they differ

South Sudan is larger, but Spain has the larger population: 48.6 million against 12.6 million, 3.86× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 96 in Spain against 20 in South Sudan: Spain is 4.78× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 4,980 km apart.
On a standard web map Spain looks larger than South Sudan: South Sudan at 7°N is drawn about 1.0× too large and Spain at 40°N about 1.7×, so the map shows Spain as 1.35× the size of South Sudan, when South Sudan is 1.26× the size of Spain.
Together South Sudan and Spain cover 1,126,000 km², close to the size of Ethiopia (1,127,000 km², 0.1% bigger).
The gap between them, 127,000 km², is about the size of Nicaragua (129,000 km²).
At Spain's density, South Sudan would have 60.1 million people (it has 12.6 million). At South Sudan's density, Spain would have 10.2 million (it has 48.6 million).
Spain's centre is 33.1° of latitude, about 3,680 km, farther north than South Sudan's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	South Sudan	1.26×
More people	Spain	3.86×
More crowded	Spain	4.78×
Farther north	Spain	33.1° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Spain	1.7× against 1.0×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	South Sudan	Spain
Belgium 30,700 km²	20.4×	16.3×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	2.57×	2.05×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.75×	1.40×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.68×	1.34×
France 548,000 km²	1.14×	0.91×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.20×	0.16×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.07×	0.06×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.07×	0.05×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.04×	0.03×

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

Side by side

	South Sudan	Spain
Area, main territory	627,000 km²242,000 mi²	499,000 km²193,000 mi²
Area with overseas territory	627,000 km²	507,000 km²
Population	12.6 millionWikidata, 2017	48.6 millionWikidata, 2024
Density	20 per km²	96 per km²
Official area	644,000 km²Wikidata	506,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Juba	Madrid
Latitude range	3°N to 12°N	35°N to 44°N
Continent	Africa	Europe

Population: Wikidata 2017 and Wikidata 2024, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Our measured 627,000 km² is 2.7% below Wikidata's official figure of 644,000 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently.
Wikidata's official figure of 506,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 507,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to South Sudan

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