Cabo Verde vs Cook Islands

Cabo Verde is 16.8 times larger than Cook Islands. Cook Islands would fit into Cabo Verde about 17 times.

Cabo VerdeCook IslandsCabo Verde moved onto Cook Islands · Equal-area projection
16.8×
Cabo Verde is 16.8× the area of Cook Islands.
Cabo VerdeCook Islands
Area4,033 km²240 km²
Population527,32614,222
Density131 / km²59 / km²
CapitalPraiaAvarua
RegionWestern AfricaPolynesia
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. Cabo Verde sits at about 16°N and is stretched to 1.08× its true area; Cook Islands at 21° S is stretched to 1.15×. 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 Cabo Verde bigger than Cook Islands?
Yes. Cabo Verde is 16.8 times larger than Cook Islands. Cabo Verde covers 4,033 km² and Cook Islands covers 240 km².
How many times does Cook Islands fit into Cabo Verde?
About 17 times: Cabo Verde has 16.8× the area of Cook Islands.
Why do Cabo Verde and Cook Islands look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Cabo Verde is drawn about 1.08× its true area there and Cook Islands about 1.15×. 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, Cabo Verde or Cook Islands?
Cabo Verde: 527,326 people against 14,222. Density: Cabo Verde 131 per km², Cook Islands 59 per km².