Chagos Islands vs São Tomé and Principe

São Tomé and Principe is 16.7 times larger than Chagos Islands. Chagos Islands would fit into São Tomé and Principe about 17 times.

Chagos IslandsSão Tomé and PrincipeChagos Islands moved onto São Tomé and Principe · Equal-area projection
0.06×
Chagos Islands is 0.06× the area of São Tomé and Principe. Put the other way, São Tomé and Principe is 16.7× the size of Chagos Islands.
Chagos IslandsSão Tomé and Principe
Area60 km²1,001 km²
Population3,000240,254
Density50 / km²240 / km²
CapitalDiego GarciaSao Tome
RegionSeven seas (open ocean)Middle Africa
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; São Tomé and Principe at 0° N is stretched to 1.0×. 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 São Tomé and Principe?
No. Chagos Islands is 16.7 times smaller than São Tomé and Principe. Chagos Islands covers 60 km² and São Tomé and Principe covers 1,001 km².
How many times does Chagos Islands fit into São Tomé and Principe?
About 17 times: São Tomé and Principe has 16.7× the area of Chagos Islands.
Why do Chagos Islands and São Tomé and Principe 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 São Tomé and Principe about 1.0×. 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 São Tomé and Principe?
São Tomé and Principe: 240,254 people against 3,000. Density: Chagos Islands 50 per km², São Tomé and Principe 240 per km².