British Virgin Islands vs Maldives

Maldives is 97% larger than British Virgin Islands. British Virgin Islands would fit into Maldives about 2.0 times.

British Virgin IslandsMaldivesBritish Virgin Islands moved onto Maldives · Equal-area projection
0.51×
British Virgin Islands is 0.51× the area of Maldives. Put the other way, Maldives is 1.97× the size of British Virgin Islands.
British Virgin IslandsMaldives
Area151 km²298 km²
Population39,732529,676
Density263 / km²1,777 / km²
CapitalRoad TownMale
RegionCaribbeanSouthern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours00

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. British Virgin Islands sits at about 19°N and is stretched to 1.11× its true area; Maldives at 4° N is stretched to 1.0×. 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 British Virgin Islands bigger than Maldives?
No. British Virgin Islands is 49% smaller than Maldives. British Virgin Islands covers 151 km² and Maldives covers 298 km².
How many times does British Virgin Islands fit into Maldives?
About 2.0 times: Maldives has 1.97× the area of British Virgin Islands.
Why do British Virgin Islands and Maldives look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. British Virgin Islands is drawn about 1.11× its true area there and Maldives about 1.0×. 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, British Virgin Islands or Maldives?
Maldives: 529,676 people against 39,732. Density: British Virgin Islands 263 per km², Maldives 1,777 per km².