Burkina Faso vs Mali

Mali is 4.52 times larger than Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso would fit into Mali about 4.5 times.

Burkina FasoMaliBurkina Faso moved onto Mali · Equal-area projection
0.22×
Burkina Faso is 0.22× the area of Mali. Put the other way, Mali is 4.52× the size of Burkina Faso.
Burkina FasoMali
Area274,200 km²1,240,192 km²
Population24,074,58025,198,821
Density88 / km²20 / km²
CapitalOuagadougouBamako
RegionWestern AfricaWestern Africa
CoastlineLandlockedLandlocked
Neighbours67

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Burkina Faso sits at about 12°N and is stretched to 1.05× 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 Burkina Faso bigger than Mali?
No. Burkina Faso is 4.52 times smaller than Mali. Burkina Faso covers 274,200 km² and Mali covers 1,240,192 km².
How many times does Burkina Faso fit into Mali?
About 4.5 times: Mali has 4.52× the area of Burkina Faso.
Why do Burkina Faso and Mali look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Burkina Faso is drawn about 1.05× 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, Burkina Faso or Mali?
Mali: 25,198,821 people against 24,074,580. Density: Burkina Faso 88 per km², Mali 20 per km².