Bangladesh vs Laos

Laos is 60% larger than Bangladesh. Bangladesh would fit into Laos about 1.6 times.

BangladeshLaosBangladesh moved onto Laos · Equal-area projection
0.62×
Bangladesh is 0.62× the area of Laos. Put the other way, Laos is 1.6× the size of Bangladesh.
BangladeshLaos
Area147,570 km²236,800 km²
Population175,686,8997,873,046
Density1,191 / km²33 / km²
CapitalDhakaVientiane
RegionSouthern AsiaSouth-Eastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours25

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Bangladesh sits at about 24°N and is stretched to 1.2× its true area; Laos at 18° N is stretched to 1.11×. 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 Bangladesh bigger than Laos?
No. Bangladesh is 38% smaller than Laos. Bangladesh covers 147,570 km² and Laos covers 236,800 km².
How many times does Bangladesh fit into Laos?
About 1.6 times: Laos has 1.6× the area of Bangladesh.
Why do Bangladesh and Laos look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Bangladesh is drawn about 1.2× its true area there and Laos about 1.11×. 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, Bangladesh or Laos?
Bangladesh: 175,686,899 people against 7,873,046. Density: Bangladesh 1,191 per km², Laos 33 per km².