Gabon vs Japan

Japan is 41% larger than Gabon.

GabonJapanGabon moved onto Japan · Equal-area projection
0.71×
Gabon is 0.71× the area of Japan. Put the other way, Japan is 1.41× the size of Gabon.
GabonJapan
Area267,667 km²377,972 km²
Population2,593,130123,366,734
Density9.7 / km²326 / km²
CapitalLibrevilleTokyo
RegionMiddle AfricaEastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours30

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Gabon sits at about 1°S and is stretched to 1.0× its true area; Japan at 37° N is stretched to 1.59×. That difference is why Japan looks so much bigger than it is next to Gabon. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.

Questions about this pair

Is Gabon bigger than Japan?
No. Gabon is 29% smaller than Japan. Gabon covers 267,667 km² and Japan covers 377,972 km².
How many times does Gabon fit into Japan?
About 1.4 times: Japan has 1.41× the area of Gabon.
Why do Gabon and Japan look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Gabon is drawn about 1.0× its true area there and Japan about 1.59×. That is why Japan looks so much bigger than it really is next to Gabon. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Gabon or Japan?
Japan: 123,366,734 people against 2,593,130. Density: Gabon 9.7 per km², Japan 326 per km².