Eritrea vs Laos

Laos is 2.01 times larger than Eritrea. Eritrea would fit into Laos about 2.0 times.

EritreaLaosEritrea moved onto Laos · Equal-area projection
0.5×
Eritrea is 0.5× the area of Laos. Put the other way, Laos is 2.01× the size of Eritrea.
EritreaLaos
Area117,600 km²236,800 km²
Population3,607,0037,873,046
Density31 / km²33 / km²
CapitalAsmaraVientiane
RegionEastern AfricaSouth-Eastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours35

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Eritrea sits at about 15°N and is stretched to 1.08× its true area; Laos 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 Eritrea bigger than Laos?
No. Eritrea is 2.01 times smaller than Laos. Eritrea covers 117,600 km² and Laos covers 236,800 km².
How many times does Eritrea fit into Laos?
About 2.0 times: Laos has 2.01× the area of Eritrea.
Why do Eritrea and Laos look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Eritrea is drawn about 1.08× its true area there and Laos 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, Eritrea or Laos?
Laos: 7,873,046 people against 3,607,003. Density: Eritrea 31 per km², Laos 33 per km².