Spain is 1.14× the size of Iraq

Spain covers about 499,000 km² (193,000 mi²) and Iraq about 437,000 km² (169,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

499,000km²Spain
437,000km²Iraq

200 km

Spain
Iraq

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

Iraq is 88% of the size of Spain.
Spain is larger by 62,100 km² (24,000 mi²), which is 14% of the area of Iraq.
Measured in Belgiums: Spain is about 16.3, Iraq about 14.3.

How they differ

Spain also has the larger population: 48.6 million against 38.3 million, 1.27× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 96 in Spain against 88 in Iraq: Spain is 1.10× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 4,240 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: Spain at 40°N is drawn about 1.7× too large and Iraq at 33°N about 1.4×, so the map shows Spain as 1.38× the size of Iraq instead of 1.14×.
Together Spain and Iraq cover 937,000 km², close to the size of Tanzania (942,000 km², 0.5% bigger).
The gap between them, 62,100 km², is about the size of Latvia (64,600 km²).
At Iraq's density, Spain would have 44.4 million people (it has 48.6 million). At Spain's density, Iraq would have 41.9 million (it has 38.3 million).
Spain's centre is 7.3° of latitude, about 820 km, farther north than Iraq's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Spain	1.14×
More people	Spain	1.27×
More crowded	Spain	1.10×
Farther north	Spain	7.3° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Spain	1.7× against 1.4×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Spain	Iraq
Belgium 30,700 km²	16.3×	14.3×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	2.05×	1.79×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.40×	1.22×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.34×	1.17×
France 548,000 km²	0.91×	0.80×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.16×	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

	Spain	Iraq
Area, main territory	499,000 km²193,000 mi²	437,000 km²169,000 mi²
Area with overseas territory	507,000 km²	437,000 km²
Population	48.6 millionWikidata, 2024	38.3 millionWikidata, 2017
Density	96 per km²	88 per km²
Official area	506,000 km²Wikidata	437,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Madrid	Baghdad
Latitude range	35°N to 44°N	29°N to 37°N
Continent	Europe	Asia

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

Wikidata's official figure of 506,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 507,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 437,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 437,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Spain

Similar in size to Iraq

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