Which has higher population, Malta or Western Sahara?

Western Sahara, at 579,734 people against 532,964 people in Malta as of 2023.

What is the difference in population between Malta and Western Sahara?

46,770 people, with Western Sahara ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Malta and Western Sahara?

106 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2023.

Where does this data come from?

HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Malta vs Western Sahara: Population

Malta

532,964 people

in 2023

Western Sahara

579,734 people

in 2023

Malta rank

172nd

Western Sahara rank

171st

Population over time

Malta
Western Sahara

How they compare

Western Sahara currently reports 579,734 people against 532,964 people in Malta, a difference of 46,770 people.

That makes Western Sahara's figure about 1.1 times Malta's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 106 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Malta ahead.

Malta ranks 172nd and Western Sahara ranks 171st of 238 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Malta averaged higher in 38 and Western Sahara in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Malta	Western Sahara	Difference	Ahead
1000s	10,000 people	42 people	9,958 people	Malta
1100s	10,000 people	63 people	9,937 people	Malta
1200s	10,000 people	94 people	9,906 people	Malta
1300s	20,000 people	142 people	19,858 people	Malta
1400s	10,000 people	213 people	9,787 people	Malta
1500s	20,000 people	319 people	19,681 people	Malta
1600s	40,000 people	479 people	39,521 people	Malta
1700s	70,000 people	718 people	69,282 people	Malta
1710s	72,000 people	721 people	71,279 people	Malta
1720s	74,000 people	723 people	73,277 people	Malta
1730s	76,000 people	726 people	75,274 people	Malta
1740s	78,000 people	728 people	77,272 people	Malta
1750s	80,000 people	731 people	79,269 people	Malta
1760s	84,000 people	733 people	83,267 people	Malta
1770s	88,000 people	735 people	87,265 people	Malta
1780s	92,000 people	738 people	91,262 people	Malta
1790s	96,000 people	740 people	95,260 people	Malta
1800s	134,072 people	743 people	133,329 people	Malta
1810s	134,072 people	745 people	133,327 people	Malta
1820s	134,553 people	752 people	133,801 people	Malta
1830s	142,294 people	758 people	141,536 people	Malta
1840s	151,015 people	764 people	150,251 people	Malta
1850s	160,270 people	771 people	159,499 people	Malta
1860s	168,587 people	777 people	167,810 people	Malta
1870s	177,322 people	793 people	176,529 people	Malta
1880s	186,494 people	809 people	185,685 people	Malta
1890s	196,124 people	826 people	195,298 people	Malta
1900s	206,234 people	843 people	205,391 people	Malta
1910s	215,840 people	860 people	214,980 people	Malta
1920s	212,759 people	1,720 people	211,039 people	Malta
1930s	227,340 people	3,441 people	223,899 people	Malta
1940s	254,503 people	6,883 people	247,620 people	Malta
1950s	315,025 people	19,850 people	295,174 people	Malta
1960s	327,598 people	43,536 people	284,062 people	Malta
1970s	332,964 people	78,764 people	254,200 people	Malta
1980s	352,494 people	147,995 people	204,498 people	Malta
1990s	382,729 people	212,465 people	170,265 people	Malta
2000s	411,306 people	332,663 people	78,643 people	Malta
2010s	449,359 people	476,886 people	27,527 people	Western Sahara
2020s	525,938 people	564,120 people	38,182 people	Western Sahara

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher population, Malta or Western Sahara?: Western Sahara, at 579,734 people against 532,964 people in Malta as of 2023.
What is the difference in population between Malta and Western Sahara?: 46,770 people, with Western Sahara ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Malta and Western Sahara?: 106 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2023.
How do Malta and Western Sahara rank globally for population?: Malta ranks 172nd and Western Sahara ranks 171st of 238 countries.
Where does this data come from?: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Population
Unit: people
Source: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 239 places, 51,002 data points, 1000–2023
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.