Cook Islands vs Curaçao

Curaçao is 85% larger than Cook Islands. Cook Islands would fit into Curaçao about 1.9 times.

Cook IslandsCuraçaoCook Islands moved onto Curaçao · Equal-area projection
0.54×
Cook Islands is 0.54× the area of Curaçao. Put the other way, Curaçao is 1.85× the size of Cook Islands.
Cook IslandsCuraçao
Area240 km²444 km²
Population14,222156,263
Density59 / km²352 / km²
CapitalAvaruaWillemstad
RegionPolynesiaCaribbean
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. Cook Islands sits at about 21°S and is stretched to 1.15× 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 Cook Islands bigger than Curaçao?
No. Cook Islands is 46% smaller than Curaçao. Cook Islands covers 240 km² and Curaçao covers 444 km².
How many times does Cook Islands fit into Curaçao?
About 1.9 times: Curaçao has 1.85× the area of Cook Islands.
Why do Cook Islands and Curaçao look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Cook Islands is drawn about 1.15× 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, Cook Islands or Curaçao?
Curaçao: 156,263 people against 14,222. Density: Cook Islands 59 per km², Curaçao 352 per km².