Côte d'Ivoire vs Japan

Japan is 17% larger than Côte d'Ivoire.

Côte d'IvoireJapanCôte d'Ivoire moved onto Japan · Equal-area projection
0.85×
Côte d'Ivoire is 0.85× the area of Japan. Put the other way, Japan is 1.17× the size of Côte d'Ivoire.
Côte d'IvoireJapan
Area322,463 km²377,972 km²
Population32,711,547123,366,734
Density101 / km²326 / km²
CapitalYamoussoukroTokyo
RegionWestern AfricaEastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours50

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Côte d'Ivoire sits at about 8°N and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; Japan at 37° N is stretched to 1.59×. That difference is why Japan looks so much bigger than it is next to Côte d'Ivoire. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.

Questions about this pair

Is Côte d'Ivoire bigger than Japan?
No. Côte d'Ivoire is 15% smaller than Japan. Côte d'Ivoire covers 322,463 km² and Japan covers 377,972 km².
How many times does Côte d'Ivoire fit into Japan?
About 1.2 times: Japan has 1.17× the area of Côte d'Ivoire.
Why do Côte d'Ivoire and Japan look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Côte d'Ivoire is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and Japan about 1.59×. That is why Japan looks so much bigger than it really is next to Côte d'Ivoire. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Côte d'Ivoire or Japan?
Japan: 123,366,734 people against 32,711,547. Density: Côte d'Ivoire 101 per km², Japan 326 per km².