Chagos Islands vs Curaçao

Curaçao is 7.4 times larger than Chagos Islands. Chagos Islands would fit into Curaçao about 7.4 times.

Chagos IslandsCuraçaoChagos Islands moved onto Curaçao · Equal-area projection
0.14×
Chagos Islands is 0.14× the area of Curaçao. Put the other way, Curaçao is 7.4× the size of Chagos Islands.
Chagos IslandsCuraçao
Area60 km²444 km²
Population3,000156,263
Density50 / km²352 / km²
CapitalDiego GarciaWillemstad
RegionSeven seas (open ocean)Caribbean
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. Chagos Islands sits at about 7°S and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; Curaçao at 12° N is stretched to 1.05×. 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 Chagos Islands bigger than Curaçao?
No. Chagos Islands is 7.4 times smaller than Curaçao. Chagos Islands covers 60 km² and Curaçao covers 444 km².
How many times does Chagos Islands fit into Curaçao?
About 7.4 times: Curaçao has 7.4× the area of Chagos Islands.
Why do Chagos Islands and Curaçao look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Chagos Islands is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and Curaçao about 1.05×. 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, Chagos Islands or Curaçao?
Curaçao: 156,263 people against 3,000. Density: Chagos Islands 50 per km², Curaçao 352 per km².