Sweden is 1.02× the size of Iraq

Sweden covers about 446,000 km² (172,000 mi²) and Iraq about 437,000 km² (169,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

446,000km²Sweden
437,000km²Iraq

200 km

Sweden
Iraq

What fits

Iraq is 98% of the size of Sweden.
Sweden is larger by 8,810 km² (3,400 mi²), which is 2.0% of the area of Iraq.
Measured in Belgiums: Sweden is about 14.5, Iraq about 14.3.

How they differ

Sweden is larger, but Iraq has the larger population: 38.3 million against 10.6 million, 3.61× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 88 in Iraq against 24 in Sweden: Iraq is 3.68× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 3,800 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: Sweden at 62°N is drawn about 4.7× too large and Iraq at 33°N about 1.4×, so the map shows Sweden as 3.34× the size of Iraq instead of 1.02×.
Together Sweden and Iraq cover 884,000 km², close to the size of Pakistan (873,000 km², 1.2% smaller).
The gap between them, 8,810 km², is about the size of Lebanon (10,000 km²).
At Iraq's density, Sweden would have 39.0 million people (it has 10.6 million). At Sweden's density, Iraq would have 10.4 million (it has 38.3 million).
Sweden's centre is 29.4° of latitude, about 3,270 km, farther north than Iraq's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Sweden	1.02×
More people	Iraq	3.61×
More crowded	Iraq	3.68×
Farther north	Sweden	29.4° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Sweden	4.7× against 1.4×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Sweden	Iraq
Belgium 30,700 km²	14.5×	14.3×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	1.83×	1.79×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.25×	1.22×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.19×	1.17×
France 548,000 km²	0.81×	0.80×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.14×	0.14×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.05×	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

	Sweden	Iraq
Area, main territory	446,000 km²172,000 mi²	437,000 km²169,000 mi²
Population	10.6 millionWikidata, 2025	38.3 millionWikidata, 2017
Density	24 per km²	88 per km²
Official area	447,000 km²Wikidata	437,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Stockholm	Baghdad
Latitude range	55°N to 69°N	29°N to 37°N
Continent	Europe	Asia

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

Wikidata's official figure of 447,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 446,000 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 Sweden

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