Cook Islands vs Panama

Panama is 309 times larger than Cook Islands. Cook Islands would fit into Panama about 309 times.

Cook IslandsPanamaCook Islands moved onto Panama · Equal-area projection
0.0×
Cook Islands is 0.0× the area of Panama. Put the other way, Panama is 309× the size of Cook Islands.
Cook IslandsPanama
Area240 km²74,177 km²
Population14,2224,571,189
Density59 / km²62 / km²
CapitalAvaruaPanama City
RegionPolynesiaCentral America
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours02

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; Panama at 9° N is stretched to 1.02×. 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 Panama?
No. Cook Islands is 309 times smaller than Panama. Cook Islands covers 240 km² and Panama covers 74,177 km².
How many times does Cook Islands fit into Panama?
About 309 times: Panama has 309× the area of Cook Islands.
Why do Cook Islands and Panama 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 Panama about 1.02×. 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 Panama?
Panama: 4,571,189 people against 14,222. Density: Cook Islands 59 per km², Panama 62 per km².