Belgium vs Spain

Spain is 17 times larger than Belgium — 505,370 against 30,528 km². Spain is 4.1 times more populous than Belgium — 49,355,143 against 11,941,781 people.

Side by side

Population density

Belgium is 4.0 times more densely populated than Spain — 391 against 98 people per km². Density is where area and population interact, and it often reverses the impression the headline figures give — a large country with a small population can feel emptier than a small crowded one by an enormous margin.

Practical differences

• Spain spans 2 time zones, so "local time" there is not a single answer.

Belgium

One of the most densely populated countries in Europe, and one of the most brightly lit — its motorway lighting was long visible from orbit as a distinct grid. The Signal de Botrange, its highest point, is only 694 m. Antwerp handles the majority of the world's rough diamond trade.

Spain

After Switzerland, Spain is the most mountainous country in Europe, with an average elevation around 650 m. The Canary Islands sit off Africa, which is why part of Spain is on a different time zone and why Teide, at 3,715 m, is the country's highest point. Spain has more olive trees than any other country, around 340 million.

Neutral facts only. Nothing here addresses politics, government, economics or which country is preferable in any respect — population is the one figure that dates, and it carries its year.