Cook Islands vs Syria

Syria is 772 times larger than Cook Islands. Cook Islands would fit into Syria about 772 times.

Cook IslandsSyriaCook Islands moved onto Syria · Equal-area projection
0.0×
Cook Islands is 0.0× the area of Syria. Put the other way, Syria is 772× the size of Cook Islands.
Cook IslandsSyria
Area240 km²185,180 km²
Population14,22225,620,427
Density59 / km²138 / km²
CapitalAvaruaDamascus
RegionPolynesiaWestern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours05

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; Syria at 35° N is stretched to 1.49×. 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 Syria?
No. Cook Islands is 772 times smaller than Syria. Cook Islands covers 240 km² and Syria covers 185,180 km².
How many times does Cook Islands fit into Syria?
About 772 times: Syria has 772× the area of Cook Islands.
Why do Cook Islands and Syria 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 Syria about 1.49×. 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 Syria?
Syria: 25,620,427 people against 14,222. Density: Cook Islands 59 per km², Syria 138 per km².