Saudi Arabia vs Spain

Saudi Arabia is 4.3 times larger than Spain — 2,149,690 against 505,370 km². Spain is 1.3 times more populous than Saudi Arabia — 49,355,143 against 36,973,555 people.

Side by side

Population density

Spain is 5.7 times more densely populated than Saudi Arabia — 98 against 17 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

• Different currencies: the Saudi riyal and the Euro.
• Spain spans 2 time zones, so "local time" there is not a single answer.
• Different continents — Asia and Europe.

Saudi Arabia

The Rub' al Khali, the Empty Quarter, is the largest continuous sand desert in the world at about 650,000 km² — bigger than France. Saudi Arabia has no permanent rivers or lakes at all, which is true of only a handful of countries. It holds roughly a sixth of the world's proven oil reserves.

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.