Cook Islands vs Laos

Laos is 987 times larger than Cook Islands. Cook Islands would fit into Laos about 987 times.

Cook IslandsLaosCook Islands moved onto Laos · Equal-area projection
0.0×
Cook Islands is 0.0× the area of Laos. Put the other way, Laos is 987× the size of Cook Islands.
Cook IslandsLaos
Area240 km²236,800 km²
Population14,2227,873,046
Density59 / km²33 / km²
CapitalAvaruaVientiane
RegionPolynesiaSouth-Eastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours05

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; 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 Cook Islands bigger than Laos?
No. Cook Islands is 987 times smaller than Laos. Cook Islands covers 240 km² and Laos covers 236,800 km².
How many times does Cook Islands fit into Laos?
About 987 times: Laos has 987× the area of Cook Islands.
Why do Cook Islands and Laos 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 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, Cook Islands or Laos?
Laos: 7,873,046 people against 14,222. Density: Cook Islands 59 per km², Laos 33 per km².