Cook Islands vs Samoa

Samoa is 11.8 times larger than Cook Islands. Cook Islands would fit into Samoa about 12 times.

Cook IslandsSamoaCook Islands moved onto Samoa · Equal-area projection
0.08×
Cook Islands is 0.08× the area of Samoa. Put the other way, Samoa is 11.8× the size of Cook Islands.
Cook IslandsSamoa
Area240 km²2,842 km²
Population14,222219,306
Density59 / km²77 / km²
CapitalAvaruaApia
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; Samoa at 14° S is stretched to 1.06×. 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 Samoa?
No. Cook Islands is 11.8 times smaller than Samoa. Cook Islands covers 240 km² and Samoa covers 2,842 km².
How many times does Cook Islands fit into Samoa?
About 12 times: Samoa has 11.8× the area of Cook Islands.
Why do Cook Islands and Samoa 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 Samoa about 1.06×. 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 Samoa?
Samoa: 219,306 people against 14,222. Density: Cook Islands 59 per km², Samoa 77 per km².