French Polynesia vs Vanuatu

Vanuatu is 2.93 times larger than French Polynesia. French Polynesia would fit into Vanuatu about 2.9 times.

French PolynesiaVanuatuFrench Polynesia moved onto Vanuatu · Equal-area projection
0.34×
French Polynesia is 0.34× the area of Vanuatu. Put the other way, Vanuatu is 2.93× the size of French Polynesia.
French PolynesiaVanuatu
Area4,167 km²12,190 km²
Population282,465335,169
Density68 / km²27 / km²
CapitalPapeetePort-Vila
RegionPolynesiaMelanesia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours00

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; Vanuatu at 16° S is stretched to 1.08×. 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 Vanuatu?
No. French Polynesia is 2.93 times smaller than Vanuatu. French Polynesia covers 4,167 km² and Vanuatu covers 12,190 km².
How many times does French Polynesia fit into Vanuatu?
About 2.9 times: Vanuatu has 2.93× the area of French Polynesia.
Why do French Polynesia and Vanuatu 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 Vanuatu about 1.08×. 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 Vanuatu?
Vanuatu: 335,169 people against 282,465. Density: French Polynesia 68 per km², Vanuatu 27 per km².