Cook Islands vs Gambia

Gambia is 47.1 times larger than Cook Islands. Cook Islands would fit into Gambia about 47 times.

Cook IslandsGambiaCook Islands moved onto Gambia · Equal-area projection
0.02×
Cook Islands is 0.02× the area of Gambia. Put the other way, Gambia is 47.1× the size of Cook Islands.
Cook IslandsGambia
Area240 km²11,300 km²
Population14,2222,822,093
Density59 / km²250 / km²
CapitalAvaruaBanjul
RegionPolynesiaWestern Africa
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. Cook Islands sits at about 21°S and is stretched to 1.15× its true area; Gambia at 13° N is stretched to 1.06×. 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 Gambia?
No. Cook Islands is 47.1 times smaller than Gambia. Cook Islands covers 240 km² and Gambia covers 11,300 km².
How many times does Cook Islands fit into Gambia?
About 47 times: Gambia has 47.1× the area of Cook Islands.
Why do Cook Islands and Gambia 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 Gambia about 1.06×. 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 Gambia?
Gambia: 2,822,093 people against 14,222. Density: Cook Islands 59 per km², Gambia 250 per km².