Central African Republic vs Peru

Peru is 2.06 times larger than Central African Republic. Central African Republic would fit into Peru about 2.1 times.

Central African RepublicPeruCentral African Republic moved onto Peru · Equal-area projection
0.48×
Central African Republic is 0.48× the area of Peru. Put the other way, Peru is 2.06× the size of Central African Republic.
Central African RepublicPeru
Area622,984 km²1,285,216 km²
Population5,513,28234,576,665
Density8.8 / km²27 / km²
CapitalBanguiLima
RegionMiddle AfricaSouth America
CoastlineLandlockedHas a coast
Neighbours65

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Central African Republic sits at about 7°N and is stretched to 1.01× its true area; Peru at 9° S is stretched to 1.03×. 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 Central African Republic bigger than Peru?
No. Central African Republic is 2.06 times smaller than Peru. Central African Republic covers 622,984 km² and Peru covers 1,285,216 km².
How many times does Central African Republic fit into Peru?
About 2.1 times: Peru has 2.06× the area of Central African Republic.
Why do Central African Republic and Peru look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Central African Republic is drawn about 1.01× its true area there and Peru about 1.03×. 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, Central African Republic or Peru?
Peru: 34,576,665 people against 5,513,282. Density: Central African Republic 8.8 per km², Peru 27 per km².