Eritrea vs Nicaragua

Nicaragua and Eritrea are almost exactly the same size.

EritreaNicaraguaEritrea moved onto Nicaragua · Equal-area projection
0.98×
Eritrea is 0.98× the area of Nicaragua. Put the other way, Nicaragua is 1.02× the size of Eritrea.
EritreaNicaragua
Area117,600 km²120,340 km²
Population3,607,0037,007,502
Density31 / km²58 / km²
CapitalAsmaraManagua
RegionEastern AfricaCentral America
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours32

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; Nicaragua at 13° N is stretched to 1.05×. 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 Nicaragua?
No. Eritrea and Nicaragua are almost exactly the same size. Eritrea covers 117,600 km² and Nicaragua covers 120,340 km².
How many times does Eritrea fit into Nicaragua?
About 1.0 times: Nicaragua has 1.02× the area of Eritrea.
Why do Eritrea and Nicaragua 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 Nicaragua about 1.05×. 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 Nicaragua?
Nicaragua: 7,007,502 people against 3,607,003. Density: Eritrea 31 per km², Nicaragua 58 per km².