Spain is 1.28× the size of Zimbabwe

Spain covers about 499,000 km² (193,000 mi²) and Zimbabwe about 389,000 km² (150,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

499,000km²Spain
389,000km²Zimbabwe

200 km

Spain
Zimbabwe

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

Zimbabwe is 78% of the size of Spain.
Spain is larger by 110,000 km² (42,500 mi²), which is 28% of the area of Zimbabwe.
Measured in Belgiums: Spain is about 16.3, Zimbabwe about 12.7.

How they differ

Spain also has the larger population: 48.6 million against 15.2 million, 3.20× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 96 in Spain against 39 in Zimbabwe: Spain is 2.46× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 7,450 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: Spain at 40°N is drawn about 1.7× too large and Zimbabwe at 19°S about 1.1×, so the map shows Spain as 1.97× the size of Zimbabwe instead of 1.28×.
Together Spain and Zimbabwe cover 889,000 km², close to the size of Pakistan (873,000 km², 1.8% smaller).
The gap between them, 110,000 km², is about the size of Cuba (110,000 km²).
At Zimbabwe's density, Spain would have 19.8 million people (it has 48.6 million). At Spain's density, Zimbabwe would have 37.3 million (it has 15.2 million).
Spain's centre is 59.3° of latitude, about 6,600 km, farther north than Zimbabwe's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Spain	1.28×
More people	Spain	3.20×
More crowded	Spain	2.46×
Farther north	Spain	59.3° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Spain	1.7× against 1.1×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Spain	Zimbabwe
Belgium 30,700 km²	16.3×	12.7×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	2.05×	1.60×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.40×	1.09×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.34×	1.04×
France 548,000 km²	0.91×	0.71×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.16×	0.12×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.06×	0.05×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.05×	0.04×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.03×	0.02×

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

Side by side

	Spain	Zimbabwe
Area, main territory	499,000 km²193,000 mi²	389,000 km²150,000 mi²
Area with overseas territory	507,000 km²	389,000 km²
Population	48.6 millionWikidata, 2024	15.2 millionWikidata, 2022
Density	96 per km²	39 per km²
Official area	506,000 km²Wikidata	391,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Madrid	Harare
Latitude range	35°N to 44°N	22°S to 16°S
Continent	Europe	Africa

Population: Wikidata 2024 and Wikidata 2022, 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 391,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 389,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Spain

Similar in size to Zimbabwe

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