Ghana vs Laos

Ghana and Laos are almost exactly the same size.

GhanaLaosGhana moved onto Laos · Equal-area projection
1.01×
Ghana is 1.01× the area of Laos.
GhanaLaos
Area238,535 km²236,800 km²
Population35,064,2727,873,046
Density147 / km²33 / km²
CapitalAccraVientiane
RegionWestern 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. Ghana sits at about 8°N and is stretched to 1.02× 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 Ghana bigger than Laos?
Yes. Ghana and Laos are almost exactly the same size. Ghana covers 238,535 km² and Laos covers 236,800 km².
How many times does Laos fit into Ghana?
About 1.0 times: Ghana has 1.01× the area of Laos.
Why do Ghana and Laos 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 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, Ghana or Laos?
Ghana: 35,064,272 people against 7,873,046. Density: Ghana 147 per km², Laos 33 per km².