Afghanistan vs Bulgaria

Afghanistan is 5.88 times larger than Bulgaria. Bulgaria would fit into Afghanistan about 5.9 times.

AfghanistanBulgariaAfghanistan moved onto Bulgaria · Equal-area projection
5.88×
Afghanistan is 5.88× the area of Bulgaria.
AfghanistanBulgaria
Area652,230 km²110,994 km²
Population43,844,1116,433,302
Density67 / km²58 / km²
CapitalKabulSofia
RegionSouthern AsiaEastern Europe
CoastlineLandlockedHas a coast
Neighbours65

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Afghanistan sits at about 34°N and is stretched to 1.45× its true area; Bulgaria at 43° N is stretched to 1.86×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.

Questions about this pair

Is Afghanistan bigger than Bulgaria?
Yes. Afghanistan is 5.88 times larger than Bulgaria. Afghanistan covers 652,230 km² and Bulgaria covers 110,994 km².
How many times does Bulgaria fit into Afghanistan?
About 5.9 times: Afghanistan has 5.88× the area of Bulgaria.
Why do Afghanistan and Bulgaria look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Afghanistan is drawn about 1.45× its true area there and Bulgaria about 1.86×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Afghanistan or Bulgaria?
Afghanistan: 43,844,111 people against 6,433,302. Density: Afghanistan 67 per km², Bulgaria 58 per km².