Bolivia vs Mali

Mali is 13% larger than Bolivia.

BoliviaMaliBolivia moved onto Mali · Equal-area projection
0.89×
Bolivia is 0.89× the area of Mali. Put the other way, Mali is 1.13× the size of Bolivia.
BoliviaMali
Area1,098,581 km²1,240,192 km²
Population12,581,84325,198,821
Density11 / km²20 / km²
CapitalLa PazBamako
RegionSouth AmericaWestern Africa
CoastlineLandlockedLandlocked
Neighbours57

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Bolivia sits at about 17°S and is stretched to 1.09× its true area; Mali at 17° N is stretched to 1.1×. 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 Bolivia bigger than Mali?
No. Bolivia is 11% smaller than Mali. Bolivia covers 1,098,581 km² and Mali covers 1,240,192 km².
How many times does Bolivia fit into Mali?
About 1.1 times: Mali has 1.13× the area of Bolivia.
Why do Bolivia and Mali look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Bolivia is drawn about 1.09× its true area there and Mali about 1.1×. 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, Bolivia or Mali?
Mali: 25,198,821 people against 12,581,843. Density: Bolivia 11 per km², Mali 20 per km².