Gabon vs Laos

Gabon is 13% larger than Laos.

GabonLaosGabon moved onto Laos · Equal-area projection
1.13×
Gabon is 1.13× the area of Laos.
GabonLaos
Area267,667 km²236,800 km²
Population2,593,1307,873,046
Density9.7 / km²33 / km²
CapitalLibrevilleVientiane
RegionMiddle AfricaSouth-Eastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours35

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; Laos at 18° N is stretched to 1.11×. 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 Gabon bigger than Laos?
Yes. Gabon is 13% larger than Laos. Gabon covers 267,667 km² and Laos covers 236,800 km².
How many times does Laos fit into Gabon?
About 1.1 times: Gabon has 1.13× the area of Laos.
Why do Gabon and Laos 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 Laos about 1.11×. 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, Gabon or Laos?
Laos: 7,873,046 people against 2,593,130. Density: Gabon 9.7 per km², Laos 33 per km².