Côte d'Ivoire vs Vietnam

Vietnam and Côte d'Ivoire are almost exactly the same size.

Côte d'IvoireVietnamCôte d'Ivoire moved onto Vietnam · Equal-area projection
0.97×
Côte d'Ivoire is 0.97× the area of Vietnam. Put the other way, Vietnam is 1.03× the size of Côte d'Ivoire.
Côte d'IvoireVietnam
Area322,463 km²331,690 km²
Population32,711,547101,598,527
Density101 / km²306 / km²
CapitalYamoussoukroHanoi
RegionWestern AfricaSouth-Eastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours53

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; Vietnam at 17° N is stretched to 1.09×. 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 Vietnam?
No. Côte d'Ivoire and Vietnam are almost exactly the same size. Côte d'Ivoire covers 322,463 km² and Vietnam covers 331,690 km².
How many times does Côte d'Ivoire fit into Vietnam?
About 1.0 times: Vietnam has 1.03× the area of Côte d'Ivoire.
Why do Côte d'Ivoire and Vietnam 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 Vietnam about 1.09×. 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 Vietnam?
Vietnam: 101,598,527 people against 32,711,547. Density: Côte d'Ivoire 101 per km², Vietnam 306 per km².