Ghana vs Japan

Japan is 58% larger than Ghana. Ghana would fit into Japan about 1.6 times.

GhanaJapanGhana moved onto Japan · Equal-area projection
0.63×
Ghana is 0.63× the area of Japan. Put the other way, Japan is 1.58× the size of Ghana.
GhanaJapan
Area238,535 km²377,972 km²
Population35,064,272123,366,734
Density147 / km²326 / km²
CapitalAccraTokyo
RegionWestern 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. Ghana sits at about 8°N and is stretched to 1.02× 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 Ghana. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.

Questions about this pair

Is Ghana bigger than Japan?
No. Ghana is 37% smaller than Japan. Ghana covers 238,535 km² and Japan covers 377,972 km².
How many times does Ghana fit into Japan?
About 1.6 times: Japan has 1.58× the area of Ghana.
Why do Ghana and Japan look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Ghana is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and Japan about 1.59×. That is why Japan looks so much bigger than it really is next to Ghana. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Ghana or Japan?
Japan: 123,366,734 people against 35,064,272. Density: Ghana 147 per km², Japan 326 per km².