Burkina Faso vs Mauritania

Mauritania is 3.76 times larger than Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso would fit into Mauritania about 3.8 times.

Burkina FasoMauritaniaBurkina Faso moved onto Mauritania · Equal-area projection
0.27×
Burkina Faso is 0.27× the area of Mauritania. Put the other way, Mauritania is 3.76× the size of Burkina Faso.
Burkina FasoMauritania
Area274,200 km²1,030,700 km²
Population24,074,5805,315,065
Density88 / km²5.2 / km²
CapitalOuagadougouNouakchott
RegionWestern AfricaWestern Africa
CoastlineLandlockedHas a coast
Neighbours64

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; 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 Burkina Faso bigger than Mauritania?
No. Burkina Faso is 3.76 times smaller than Mauritania. Burkina Faso covers 274,200 km² and Mauritania covers 1,030,700 km².
How many times does Burkina Faso fit into Mauritania?
About 3.8 times: Mauritania has 3.76× the area of Burkina Faso.
Why do Burkina Faso and Mauritania 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 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, Burkina Faso or Mauritania?
Burkina Faso: 24,074,580 people against 5,315,065. Density: Burkina Faso 88 per km², Mauritania 5.2 per km².