French Polynesia vs Panama

Panama is 17.8 times larger than French Polynesia. French Polynesia would fit into Panama about 18 times.

French PolynesiaPanamaFrench Polynesia moved onto Panama · Equal-area projection
0.06×
French Polynesia is 0.06× the area of Panama. Put the other way, Panama is 17.8× the size of French Polynesia.
French PolynesiaPanama
Area4,167 km²74,177 km²
Population282,4654,571,189
Density68 / km²62 / km²
CapitalPapeetePanama City
RegionPolynesiaCentral America
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours02

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; Panama at 9° N is stretched to 1.02×. 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 Panama?
No. French Polynesia is 17.8 times smaller than Panama. French Polynesia covers 4,167 km² and Panama covers 74,177 km².
How many times does French Polynesia fit into Panama?
About 18 times: Panama has 17.8× the area of French Polynesia.
Why do French Polynesia and Panama 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 Panama about 1.02×. 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 Panama?
Panama: 4,571,189 people against 282,465. Density: French Polynesia 68 per km², Panama 62 per km².