Cook Islands vs Niue

Niue is 8% larger than Cook Islands.

Cook IslandsNiueCook Islands moved onto Niue · Equal-area projection
0.92×
Cook Islands is 0.92× the area of Niue. Put the other way, Niue is 1.08× the size of Cook Islands.
Cook IslandsNiue
Area240 km²260 km²
Population14,2221,821
Density59 / km²7.0 / km²
CapitalAvaruaAlofi
RegionPolynesiaPolynesia
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; Niue at 19° S is stretched to 1.12×. 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 Niue?
No. Cook Islands is 8% smaller than Niue. Cook Islands covers 240 km² and Niue covers 260 km².
How many times does Cook Islands fit into Niue?
About 1.1 times: Niue has 1.08× the area of Cook Islands.
Why do Cook Islands and Niue 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 Niue about 1.12×. 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 Niue?
Cook Islands: 14,222 people against 1,821. Density: Cook Islands 59 per km², Niue 7.0 per km².