Sudan is 1.14× the size of Iran

Sudan covers about 1,856,000 km² (716,000 mi²) and Iran about 1,623,000 km² (626,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

1,856,000km²Sudan
1,623,000km²Iran

500 km

Sudan
Iran

What fits

Iran is 87% of the size of Sudan.
Sudan is larger by 233,000 km² (90,000 mi²), which is 14% of the area of Iran.
Measured in Belgiums: Sudan is about 60.5, Iran about 52.9.

How they differ

Sudan is larger, but Iran has the larger population: 92.4 million against 40.5 million, 2.28× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 57 in Iran against 22 in Sudan: Iran is 2.61× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 3,080 km apart.
On a standard web map Iran looks larger than Sudan: Sudan at 16°N is drawn about 1.1× too large and Iran at 33°N about 1.4×, so the map shows Iran as 1.14× the size of Sudan, when Sudan is 1.14× the size of Iran.
Together Sudan and Iran cover 3,478,000 km², close to the size of India (3,151,000 km², 9.4% smaller).
The gap between them, 233,000 km², is about the size of Romania (236,000 km²).
At Iran's density, Sudan would have 105.7 million people (it has 40.5 million). At Sudan's density, Iran would have 35.4 million (it has 92.4 million).
Iran's centre is 16.6° of latitude, about 1,840 km, farther north than Sudan's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Sudan	1.14×
More people	Iran	2.28×
More crowded	Iran	2.61×
Farther north	Iran	16.6° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Iran	1.4× against 1.1×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Sudan	Iran
Belgium 30,700 km²	60.5×	52.9×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	7.61×	6.66×
Germany 358,000 km²	5.19×	4.54×
Japan 374,000 km²	4.97×	4.34×
France 548,000 km²	3.39×	2.96×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.59×	0.51×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.22×	0.19×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.20×	0.17×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.11×	0.10×

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

Side by side

	Sudan	Iran
Area, main territory	1,856,000 km²716,000 mi²	1,623,000 km²626,000 mi²
Population	40.5 millionWikidata, 2017	92.4 millionWikidata, 2025
Density	22 per km²	57 per km²
Official area	1,878,000 km²Wikidata	1,648,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Khartoum	Tehran
Latitude range	9°N to 22°N	25°N to 40°N
Continent	Africa	Asia

Population: Wikidata 2017 and Wikidata 2025, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 1,878,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 1,856,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 1,648,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 1,623,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Sudan

Similar in size to Iran

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