Ecuador vs Malaysia

Malaysia is 29% larger than Ecuador.

EcuadorMalaysiaEcuador moved onto Malaysia · Equal-area projection
0.78×
Ecuador is 0.78× the area of Malaysia. Put the other way, Malaysia is 1.29× the size of Ecuador.
EcuadorMalaysia
Area257,204 km²330,803 km²
Population18,289,89635,977,838
Density71 / km²109 / km²
CapitalQuitoKuala Lumpur
RegionSouth AmericaSouth-Eastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours23

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Ecuador sits at about 1°S and is stretched to 1.0× its true area; Malaysia at 4° N is stretched to 1.0×. 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 Ecuador bigger than Malaysia?
No. Ecuador is 22% smaller than Malaysia. Ecuador covers 257,204 km² and Malaysia covers 330,803 km².
How many times does Ecuador fit into Malaysia?
About 1.3 times: Malaysia has 1.29× the area of Ecuador.
Why do Ecuador and Malaysia look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Ecuador is drawn about 1.0× its true area there and Malaysia about 1.0×. 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, Ecuador or Malaysia?
Malaysia: 35,977,838 people against 18,289,896. Density: Ecuador 71 per km², Malaysia 109 per km².