Ethiopia vs Iran

Iran is 49% larger than Ethiopia.

EthiopiaIranEthiopia moved onto Iran · Equal-area projection
0.67×
Ethiopia is 0.67× the area of Iran. Put the other way, Iran is 1.49× the size of Ethiopia.
EthiopiaIran
Area1,104,300 km²1,648,195 km²
Population135,472,05192,417,681
Density123 / km²56 / km²
CapitalAddis AbabaTehran
RegionEastern AfricaSouthern Asia
CoastlineLandlockedHas a coast
Neighbours77

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Ethiopia sits at about 9°N and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; Iran at 33° N is stretched to 1.41×. 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 Ethiopia bigger than Iran?
No. Ethiopia is 33% smaller than Iran. Ethiopia covers 1,104,300 km² and Iran covers 1,648,195 km².
How many times does Ethiopia fit into Iran?
About 1.5 times: Iran has 1.49× the area of Ethiopia.
Why do Ethiopia and Iran look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Ethiopia is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and Iran about 1.41×. 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, Ethiopia or Iran?
Ethiopia: 135,472,051 people against 92,417,681. Density: Ethiopia 123 per km², Iran 56 per km².