Afghanistan vs Madagascar

Afghanistan is 11% larger than Madagascar.

AfghanistanMadagascarAfghanistan moved onto Madagascar · Equal-area projection
1.11×
Afghanistan is 1.11× the area of Madagascar.
AfghanistanMadagascar
Area652,230 km²587,295 km²
Population43,844,11132,740,678
Density67 / km²56 / km²
CapitalKabulAntananarivo
RegionSouthern AsiaEastern Africa
CoastlineLandlockedHas a coast
Neighbours60

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; Madagascar at 19° S is stretched to 1.12×. 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 Madagascar?
Yes. Afghanistan is 11% larger than Madagascar. Afghanistan covers 652,230 km² and Madagascar covers 587,295 km².
How many times does Madagascar fit into Afghanistan?
About 1.1 times: Afghanistan has 1.11× the area of Madagascar.
Why do Afghanistan and Madagascar 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 Madagascar about 1.12×. 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 Madagascar?
Afghanistan: 43,844,111 people against 32,740,678. Density: Afghanistan 67 per km², Madagascar 56 per km².