Gabon vs Syria

Gabon is 45% larger than Syria.

GabonSyriaGabon moved onto Syria · Equal-area projection
1.45×
Gabon is 1.45× the area of Syria.
GabonSyria
Area267,667 km²185,180 km²
Population2,593,13025,620,427
Density9.7 / km²138 / km²
CapitalLibrevilleDamascus
RegionMiddle AfricaWestern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
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; Syria at 35° N is stretched to 1.49×. 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 Syria?
Yes. Gabon is 45% larger than Syria. Gabon covers 267,667 km² and Syria covers 185,180 km².
How many times does Syria fit into Gabon?
About 1.4 times: Gabon has 1.45× the area of Syria.
Why do Gabon and Syria 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 Syria about 1.49×. 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 Syria?
Syria: 25,620,427 people against 2,593,130. Density: Gabon 9.7 per km², Syria 138 per km².