Afghanistan vs South Sudan

Afghanistan and South Sudan are almost exactly the same size.

AfghanistanSouth SudanAfghanistan moved onto South Sudan · Equal-area projection
1.01×
Afghanistan is 1.01× the area of South Sudan.
AfghanistanSouth Sudan
Area652,230 km²644,329 km²
Population43,844,11112,188,788
Density67 / km²19 / km²
CapitalKabulJuba
RegionSouthern AsiaEastern Africa
CoastlineLandlockedLandlocked
Neighbours66

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; South Sudan at 7° N is stretched to 1.02×. 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 South Sudan?
Yes. Afghanistan and South Sudan are almost exactly the same size. Afghanistan covers 652,230 km² and South Sudan covers 644,329 km².
How many times does South Sudan fit into Afghanistan?
About 1.0 times: Afghanistan has 1.01× the area of South Sudan.
Why do Afghanistan and South Sudan 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 South Sudan about 1.02×. 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 South Sudan?
Afghanistan: 43,844,111 people against 12,188,788. Density: Afghanistan 67 per km², South Sudan 19 per km².