Benin vs Mauritania

Mauritania is 8.98 times larger than Benin. Benin would fit into Mauritania about 9.0 times.

BeninMauritaniaBenin moved onto Mauritania · Equal-area projection
0.11×
Benin is 0.11× the area of Mauritania. Put the other way, Mauritania is 8.98× the size of Benin.
BeninMauritania
Area114,763 km²1,030,700 km²
Population14,814,4605,315,065
Density129 / km²5.2 / km²
CapitalPorto-NovoNouakchott
RegionWestern AfricaWestern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours44

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Benin sits at about 10°N and is stretched to 1.03× its true area; Mauritania at 20° N is stretched to 1.14×. 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 Benin bigger than Mauritania?
No. Benin is 8.98 times smaller than Mauritania. Benin covers 114,763 km² and Mauritania covers 1,030,700 km².
How many times does Benin fit into Mauritania?
About 9.0 times: Mauritania has 8.98× the area of Benin.
Why do Benin and Mauritania look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Benin is drawn about 1.03× its true area there and Mauritania about 1.14×. 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, Benin or Mauritania?
Benin: 14,814,460 people against 5,315,065. Density: Benin 129 per km², Mauritania 5.2 per km².