French Polynesia vs Malawi

Malawi is 28.4 times larger than French Polynesia. French Polynesia would fit into Malawi about 28 times.

French PolynesiaMalawiFrench Polynesia moved onto Malawi · Equal-area projection
0.04×
French Polynesia is 0.04× the area of Malawi. Put the other way, Malawi is 28.4× the size of French Polynesia.
French PolynesiaMalawi
Area4,167 km²118,484 km²
Population282,46522,216,120
Density68 / km²188 / km²
CapitalPapeeteLilongwe
RegionPolynesiaEastern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours03

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. French Polynesia sits at about 15°S and is stretched to 1.07× its true area; Malawi at 13° S is stretched to 1.06×. 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 French Polynesia bigger than Malawi?
No. French Polynesia is 28.4 times smaller than Malawi. French Polynesia covers 4,167 km² and Malawi covers 118,484 km².
How many times does French Polynesia fit into Malawi?
About 28 times: Malawi has 28.4× the area of French Polynesia.
Why do French Polynesia and Malawi look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. French Polynesia is drawn about 1.07× its true area there and Malawi about 1.06×. 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, French Polynesia or Malawi?
Malawi: 22,216,120 people against 282,465. Density: French Polynesia 68 per km², Malawi 188 per km².