Cook Islands vs Maldives

Maldives is 24% larger than Cook Islands.

Cook IslandsMaldivesCook Islands moved onto Maldives · Equal-area projection
0.81×
Cook Islands is 0.81× the area of Maldives. Put the other way, Maldives is 1.24× the size of Cook Islands.
Cook IslandsMaldives
Area240 km²298 km²
Population14,222529,676
Density59 / km²1,777 / km²
CapitalAvaruaMale
RegionPolynesiaSouthern Asia
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; Maldives at 4° N is stretched to 1.0×. 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 Maldives?
No. Cook Islands is 19% smaller than Maldives. Cook Islands covers 240 km² and Maldives covers 298 km².
How many times does Cook Islands fit into Maldives?
About 1.2 times: Maldives has 1.24× the area of Cook Islands.
Why do Cook Islands and Maldives 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 Maldives about 1.0×. 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 Maldives?
Maldives: 529,676 people against 14,222. Density: Cook Islands 59 per km², Maldives 1,777 per km².