Cook Islands vs US Virgin Islands

US Virgin Islands is 44% larger than Cook Islands.

Cook IslandsUS Virgin IslandsCook Islands moved onto US Virgin Islands · Equal-area projection
0.69×
Cook Islands is 0.69× the area of US Virgin Islands. Put the other way, US Virgin Islands is 1.44× the size of Cook Islands.
Cook IslandsUS Virgin Islands
Area240 km²346 km²
Population14,222103,792
Density59 / km²300 / km²
CapitalAvaruaCharlotte Amalie
RegionPolynesiaCaribbean
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; US Virgin Islands at 18° N is stretched to 1.11×. 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 US Virgin Islands?
No. Cook Islands is 31% smaller than US Virgin Islands. Cook Islands covers 240 km² and US Virgin Islands covers 346 km².
How many times does Cook Islands fit into US Virgin Islands?
About 1.4 times: US Virgin Islands has 1.44× the area of Cook Islands.
Why do Cook Islands and US Virgin Islands 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 US Virgin Islands about 1.11×. 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 US Virgin Islands?
US Virgin Islands: 103,792 people against 14,222. Density: Cook Islands 59 per km², US Virgin Islands 300 per km².