Colombia vs Laos

Colombia is 4.82 times larger than Laos. Laos would fit into Colombia about 4.8 times.

ColombiaLaosColombia moved onto Laos · Equal-area projection
4.82×
Colombia is 4.82× the area of Laos.
ColombiaLaos
Area1,141,748 km²236,800 km²
Population53,425,6357,873,046
Density47 / km²33 / km²
CapitalBogotaVientiane
RegionSouth AmericaSouth-Eastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours55

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Colombia sits at about 4°N and is stretched to 1.0× its true area; Laos 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 Colombia bigger than Laos?
Yes. Colombia is 4.82 times larger than Laos. Colombia covers 1,141,748 km² and Laos covers 236,800 km².
How many times does Laos fit into Colombia?
About 4.8 times: Colombia has 4.82× the area of Laos.
Why do Colombia and Laos look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Colombia is drawn about 1.0× its true area there and Laos 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, Colombia or Laos?
Colombia: 53,425,635 people against 7,873,046. Density: Colombia 47 per km², Laos 33 per km².