Congo vs Mali

Mali is 3.63 times larger than Congo. Congo would fit into Mali about 3.6 times.

CongoMaliCongo moved onto Mali · Equal-area projection
0.28×
Congo is 0.28× the area of Mali. Put the other way, Mali is 3.63× the size of Congo.
CongoMali
Area342,000 km²1,240,192 km²
Population6,484,43725,198,821
Density19 / km²20 / km²
CapitalBrazzavilleBamako
RegionMiddle AfricaWestern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours57

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Congo sits at about 1°S and is stretched to 1.0× its true area; Mali at 17° N is stretched to 1.1×. 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 Congo bigger than Mali?
No. Congo is 3.63 times smaller than Mali. Congo covers 342,000 km² and Mali covers 1,240,192 km².
How many times does Congo fit into Mali?
About 3.6 times: Mali has 3.63× the area of Congo.
Why do Congo and Mali look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Congo is drawn about 1.0× its true area there and Mali about 1.1×. 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, Congo or Mali?
Mali: 25,198,821 people against 6,484,437. Density: Congo 19 per km², Mali 20 per km².