Afghanistan vs Tajikistan

Afghanistan is 4.56 times larger than Tajikistan. Tajikistan would fit into Afghanistan about 4.6 times.

AfghanistanTajikistanAfghanistan moved onto Tajikistan · Equal-area projection
4.56×
Afghanistan is 4.56× the area of Tajikistan.
AfghanistanTajikistan
Area652,230 km²143,100 km²
Population43,844,11110,786,734
Density67 / km²75 / km²
CapitalKabulDushanbe
RegionSouthern AsiaCentral Asia
CoastlineLandlockedLandlocked
Neighbours64

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; Tajikistan at 39° N is stretched to 1.63×. 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 Tajikistan?
Yes. Afghanistan is 4.56 times larger than Tajikistan. Afghanistan covers 652,230 km² and Tajikistan covers 143,100 km².
How many times does Tajikistan fit into Afghanistan?
About 4.6 times: Afghanistan has 4.56× the area of Tajikistan.
Why do Afghanistan and Tajikistan 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 Tajikistan about 1.63×. 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 Tajikistan?
Afghanistan: 43,844,111 people against 10,786,734. Density: Afghanistan 67 per km², Tajikistan 75 per km².