Gabon vs Poland

Poland is 17% larger than Gabon.

GabonPolandGabon moved onto Poland · Equal-area projection
0.86×
Gabon is 0.86× the area of Poland. Put the other way, Poland is 1.17× the size of Gabon.
GabonPoland
Area267,667 km²312,683 km²
Population2,593,13036,435,861
Density9.7 / km²117 / km²
CapitalLibrevilleWarsaw
RegionMiddle AfricaEastern Europe
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours37

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; Poland at 52° N is stretched to 2.65×. That difference is why Poland 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 Poland?
No. Gabon is 14% smaller than Poland. Gabon covers 267,667 km² and Poland covers 312,683 km².
How many times does Gabon fit into Poland?
About 1.2 times: Poland has 1.17× the area of Gabon.
Why do Gabon and Poland 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 Poland about 2.65×. That is why Poland 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 Poland?
Poland: 36,435,861 people against 2,593,130. Density: Gabon 9.7 per km², Poland 117 per km².