Chagos Islands vs Saint Martin

Chagos Islands is 13% larger than Saint Martin.

Chagos IslandsSaint MartinChagos Islands moved onto Saint Martin · Equal-area projection
1.13×
Chagos Islands is 1.13× the area of Saint Martin.
Chagos IslandsSaint Martin
Area60 km²53 km²
Population3,00024,941
Density50 / km²471 / km²
CapitalDiego GarciaMarigot
RegionSeven seas (open ocean)Caribbean
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours01

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; Saint Martin at 18° N is stretched to 1.11×. 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 Saint Martin?
Yes. Chagos Islands is 13% larger than Saint Martin. Chagos Islands covers 60 km² and Saint Martin covers 53 km².
How many times does Saint Martin fit into Chagos Islands?
About 1.1 times: Chagos Islands has 1.13× the area of Saint Martin.
Why do Chagos Islands and Saint Martin 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 Saint Martin about 1.11×. 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 Saint Martin?
Saint Martin: 24,941 people against 3,000. Density: Chagos Islands 50 per km², Saint Martin 471 per km².