Cook Islands vs Malta

Malta is 32% larger than Cook Islands.

Cook IslandsMaltaCook Islands moved onto Malta · Equal-area projection
0.76×
Cook Islands is 0.76× the area of Malta. Put the other way, Malta is 1.32× the size of Cook Islands.
Cook IslandsMalta
Area240 km²316 km²
Population14,222579,704
Density59 / km²1,835 / km²
CapitalAvaruaValletta
RegionPolynesiaSouthern Europe
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; Malta at 36° N is stretched to 1.52×. 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 Malta?
No. Cook Islands is 24% smaller than Malta. Cook Islands covers 240 km² and Malta covers 316 km².
How many times does Cook Islands fit into Malta?
About 1.3 times: Malta has 1.32× the area of Cook Islands.
Why do Cook Islands and Malta 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 Malta about 1.52×. 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 Malta?
Malta: 579,704 people against 14,222. Density: Cook Islands 59 per km², Malta 1,835 per km².