French Polynesia vs Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is 17.2 times larger than French Polynesia. French Polynesia would fit into Sierra Leone about 17 times.

French PolynesiaSierra LeoneFrench Polynesia moved onto Sierra Leone · Equal-area projection
0.06×
French Polynesia is 0.06× the area of Sierra Leone. Put the other way, Sierra Leone is 17.2× the size of French Polynesia.
French PolynesiaSierra Leone
Area4,167 km²71,740 km²
Population282,4658,819,794
Density68 / km²123 / km²
CapitalPapeeteFreetown
RegionPolynesiaWestern Africa
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; Sierra Leone 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 Sierra Leone?
No. French Polynesia is 17.2 times smaller than Sierra Leone. French Polynesia covers 4,167 km² and Sierra Leone covers 71,740 km².
How many times does French Polynesia fit into Sierra Leone?
About 17 times: Sierra Leone has 17.2× the area of French Polynesia.
Why do French Polynesia and Sierra Leone 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 Sierra Leone 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 Sierra Leone?
Sierra Leone: 8,819,794 people against 282,465. Density: French Polynesia 68 per km², Sierra Leone 123 per km².