Eritrea vs Syria

Syria is 57% larger than Eritrea. Eritrea would fit into Syria about 1.6 times.

EritreaSyriaEritrea moved onto Syria · Equal-area projection
0.64×
Eritrea is 0.64× the area of Syria. Put the other way, Syria is 1.57× the size of Eritrea.
EritreaSyria
Area117,600 km²185,180 km²
Population3,607,00325,620,427
Density31 / km²138 / km²
CapitalAsmaraDamascus
RegionEastern AfricaWestern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
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; Syria at 35° N is stretched to 1.49×. 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 Syria?
No. Eritrea is 36% smaller than Syria. Eritrea covers 117,600 km² and Syria covers 185,180 km².
How many times does Eritrea fit into Syria?
About 1.6 times: Syria has 1.57× the area of Eritrea.
Why do Eritrea and Syria 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 Syria about 1.49×. 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 Syria?
Syria: 25,620,427 people against 3,607,003. Density: Eritrea 31 per km², Syria 138 per km².