Gambia vs Syria

Syria is 16.4 times larger than Gambia. Gambia would fit into Syria about 16 times.

GambiaSyriaGambia moved onto Syria · Equal-area projection
0.06×
Gambia is 0.06× the area of Syria. Put the other way, Syria is 16.4× the size of Gambia.
GambiaSyria
Area11,300 km²185,180 km²
Population2,822,09325,620,427
Density250 / km²138 / km²
CapitalBanjulDamascus
RegionWestern AfricaWestern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours15

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Gambia sits at about 13°N and is stretched to 1.06× 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 Gambia bigger than Syria?
No. Gambia is 16.4 times smaller than Syria. Gambia covers 11,300 km² and Syria covers 185,180 km².
How many times does Gambia fit into Syria?
About 16 times: Syria has 16.4× the area of Gambia.
Why do Gambia and Syria look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Gambia is drawn about 1.06× 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, Gambia or Syria?
Syria: 25,620,427 people against 2,822,093. Density: Gambia 250 per km², Syria 138 per km².