Côte d'Ivoire vs Madagascar

Madagascar is 82% larger than Côte d'Ivoire. Côte d'Ivoire would fit into Madagascar about 1.8 times.

Côte d'IvoireMadagascarCôte d'Ivoire moved onto Madagascar · Equal-area projection
0.55×
Côte d'Ivoire is 0.55× the area of Madagascar. Put the other way, Madagascar is 1.82× the size of Côte d'Ivoire.
Côte d'IvoireMadagascar
Area322,463 km²587,295 km²
Population32,711,54732,740,678
Density101 / km²56 / km²
CapitalYamoussoukroAntananarivo
RegionWestern AfricaEastern Africa
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; Madagascar at 19° S is stretched to 1.12×. 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 Côte d'Ivoire bigger than Madagascar?
No. Côte d'Ivoire is 45% smaller than Madagascar. Côte d'Ivoire covers 322,463 km² and Madagascar covers 587,295 km².
How many times does Côte d'Ivoire fit into Madagascar?
About 1.8 times: Madagascar has 1.82× the area of Côte d'Ivoire.
Why do Côte d'Ivoire and Madagascar 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 Madagascar about 1.12×. 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, Côte d'Ivoire or Madagascar?
Madagascar: 32,740,678 people against 32,711,547. Density: Côte d'Ivoire 101 per km², Madagascar 56 per km².