Cabo Verde vs French Polynesia

French Polynesia is 3% larger than Cabo Verde.

Cabo VerdeFrench PolynesiaCabo Verde moved onto French Polynesia · Equal-area projection
0.97×
Cabo Verde is 0.97× the area of French Polynesia. Put the other way, French Polynesia is 1.03× the size of Cabo Verde.
Cabo VerdeFrench Polynesia
Area4,033 km²4,167 km²
Population527,326282,465
Density131 / km²68 / km²
CapitalPraiaPapeete
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; French Polynesia at 15° S is stretched to 1.07×. 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 French Polynesia?
No. Cabo Verde is 3% smaller than French Polynesia. Cabo Verde covers 4,033 km² and French Polynesia covers 4,167 km².
How many times does Cabo Verde fit into French Polynesia?
About 1.0 times: French Polynesia has 1.03× the area of Cabo Verde.
Why do Cabo Verde and French Polynesia 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 French Polynesia about 1.07×. 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 French Polynesia?
Cabo Verde: 527,326 people against 282,465. Density: Cabo Verde 131 per km², French Polynesia 68 per km².