Yemen is 1.04× the size of Iraq

Yemen covers about 453,000 km² (175,000 mi²) and Iraq about 437,000 km² (169,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

453,000km²Yemen
437,000km²Iraq

200 km

Yemen
Iraq

What fits

Iraq is 97% of the size of Yemen.
Yemen is larger by 15,700 km² (6,070 mi²), which is 3.6% of the area of Iraq.
Measured in Belgiums: Yemen is about 14.8, Iraq about 14.3.

How they differ

Yemen is larger, but Iraq has the larger population: 38.3 million against 28.3 million, 1.35× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 88 in Iraq against 62 in Yemen: Iraq is 1.40× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 1,940 km apart.
On a standard web map Iraq looks larger than Yemen: Yemen at 16°N is drawn about 1.1× too large and Iraq at 33°N about 1.4×, so the map shows Iraq as 1.27× the size of Yemen, when Yemen is 1.04× the size of Iraq.
Together Yemen and Iraq cover 890,000 km², close to the size of Nigeria (907,000 km², 1.9% bigger).
The gap between them, 15,700 km², is about the size of East Timor (15,100 km²).
At Iraq's density, Yemen would have 39.6 million people (it has 28.3 million). At Yemen's density, Iraq would have 27.3 million (it has 38.3 million).
Iraq's centre is 17.1° of latitude, about 1,900 km, farther north than Yemen's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Yemen	1.04×
More people	Iraq	1.35×
More crowded	Iraq	1.40×
Farther north	Iraq	17.1° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Iraq	1.4× against 1.1×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Yemen	Iraq
Belgium 30,700 km²	14.8×	14.3×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	1.86×	1.79×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.27×	1.22×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.21×	1.17×
France 548,000 km²	0.83×	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

	Yemen	Iraq
Area, main territory	453,000 km²175,000 mi²	437,000 km²169,000 mi²
Population	28.3 millionWikidata, 2017	38.3 millionWikidata, 2017
Density	62 per km²	88 per km²
Official area	456,000 km²Wikidata	437,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Sanaa; Aden	Baghdad
Latitude range	12°N to 19°N	29°N to 37°N
Continent	Asia	Asia

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

Wikidata's official figure of 456,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 453,000 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 Yemen

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