Afghanistan vs Spain

Afghanistan is 29% larger than Spain.

AfghanistanSpainAfghanistan moved onto Spain · Equal-area projection
1.29×
Afghanistan is 1.29× the area of Spain.
AfghanistanSpain
Area652,230 km²505,990 km²
Population43,844,11149,355,143
Density67 / km²98 / km²
CapitalKabulMadrid
RegionSouthern AsiaSouthern Europe
CoastlineLandlockedHas a coast
Neighbours63

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; Spain at 40° N is stretched to 1.71×. 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 Spain?
Yes. Afghanistan is 29% larger than Spain. Afghanistan covers 652,230 km² and Spain covers 505,990 km².
How many times does Spain fit into Afghanistan?
About 1.3 times: Afghanistan has 1.29× the area of Spain.
Why do Afghanistan and Spain 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 Spain about 1.71×. 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 Spain?
Spain: 49,355,143 people against 43,844,111. Density: Afghanistan 67 per km², Spain 98 per km².