Which is bigger: Gabon or Western Sahara?

Gabon is larger (267,668 km²) — about 1.0 times the size of Western Sahara (266,000 km²).

Why do Gabon and Western Sahara look different on the map than in reality?

The common Mercator projection enlarges areas the farther they lie from the equator, so the on-map size proportions of Gabon and Western Sahara are distorted compared to their true land area.

02Act II · 1:1 studioChange pair ↙

Gabon×Western Sahara

Put Gabon and Western Sahara on the same scale. Drag, separate, and see what the Mercator map hides.

Reverse order ⇄

True-size comparison

Same scale. Real difference.

Drag the outlines to overlap them, or place them side by side.

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Gabon ↗

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Total surface area267,668 km²ed. 2024

Population2,593,1302025

Land area257,670 km²2023

TypeCountry

Western Sahara ↗

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Total surface area266,000 km²ed. 2024

Population652,271

TypeCountry