Africa · Northern Africa
Western Sahara
Western Sahara covers about 90,500 km² (34,900 mi²), the 113th largest of the 246 places listed here. That is close to Portugal, at about 91,400 km².
- 90,500km²Area, main territory
- 612,000Population
- 2.95In Belgiums
The boundary or political status of this area is contested. Size Versus draws the Natural Earth de facto outline and takes no position on it.
200 km
- Western Sahara
Facts
| Area, main territory | 90,500 km²34,900 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 266,000 km²Wikidata · 66% above our measure |
| In Belgiums | 2.95 |
| Population | 612,000Wikidata, 2021 |
| Density | 6.8 people per km² |
| Latitude range | 21°N to 28°N |
| In other languages | Sáhara Occidental Español · Westsahara Deutsch · Sahara occidental Français · Saara Ocidental Português · 西サハラ 日本語 · 西撒哈拉 中文 · 서사하라 한국어 |
| Continent | Africa#41 of 54 countries by area |
What the numbers say about Western Sahara
- Russia, the largest place listed, is 188× the size of Western Sahara.
- Western Sahara ranks 112th of 239 by area but only 168th of 237 by population: it holds fewer people than its size suggests.
- At 6.8 people per km², Western Sahara is the 171st most densely populated of the 185 places over 1,000 km²; the median is 72 per km².
- Western Sahara lies at 24°N, close to the equator, where a standard web map (Web Mercator) is nearly true to size: it inflates area by only about 1.2×.
- Laid out flat, Western Sahara's main territory stretches about 763 km north to south and 860 km east to west.
- Our measured 90,500 km² is 66% below Wikidata's official figure of 266,000 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently. This difference is flagged for review.
How Western Sahara measures up
Western Sahara holds 0.3% of the land area and 0.0% of the people of the 54 countries listed for Africa. In Northern Africa it is the 7th largest of 7.
| Where it ranks | Figure | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 90,500 km² | 112th of 239 |
| Population | 612,000 | 168th of 237 |
| Density | 6.8 per km² | 171st of 185 |
| Farthest north | 24.2°N | 89th of 212 |
| Compared with | Its area | Western Sahara is |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 30,700 km² | 2.95× its size |
| United Kingdom | 244,000 km² | 0.37× its size |
| Germany | 358,000 km² | 0.25× its size |
| Japan | 374,000 km² | 0.24× its size |
| France | 548,000 km² | 0.17× its size |
| India | 3,151,000 km² | 0.03× its size |
| Brazil | 8,473,000 km² | 0.01× its size |
| United States | 9,447,000 km² | 0.01× its size |
| Russia | 16,980,000 km² | 0.01× its size |
Where Western Sahara sits
- Western Sahara's centre lies at 24.2°N, 12.3°W, in the northern and western hemispheres, about 2,690 km from the equator.
- Its main territory spans 21°N to 28°N, about 770 km from its southern edge to its northern.
Closest neighbours, by distance between centres
On the same latitude, elsewhere in the world
If Western Sahara had other densities
- At Bangladesh's density of 1,252 people per km², Western Sahara would have 113.3 million people. It has 612,000.
- At Canada's density of 3.7 people per km², Western Sahara would have 337,000 people. It has 612,000.
- At the median density of the places listed, 72 per km², it would have 6.5 million.
About the same size as
Largest in Africa
- Democratic Republic of the Congo2,325,000 km²
- Algeria2,309,000 km²
- Sudan1,856,000 km²
- Libya1,624,000 km²
- Chad1,266,000 km²
- Western Sahara#41 · 90,500 km²
Compare Western Sahara
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Sources and method
- Outline
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
- Boundary
- De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline, shown rounded
- Official figures
- Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-11
- Population
- Wikidata, 2021; covers the whole country, overseas territory included
- Data built
- 2026-11-11