Israel vs São Tomé and Principe

Israel is 20.7 times larger than São Tomé and Principe. São Tomé and Principe would fit into Israel about 21 times.

IsraelSão Tomé and PrincipeIsrael moved onto São Tomé and Principe · Equal-area projection
20.7×
Israel is 20.7× the area of São Tomé and Principe.
IsraelSão Tomé and Principe
Area20,770 km²1,001 km²
Population10,122,800240,254
Density487 / km²240 / km²
CapitalJerusalemSao Tome
RegionWestern AsiaMiddle Africa
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours50

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Israel sits at about 31°N and is stretched to 1.37× its true area; São Tomé and Principe at 0° N is stretched to 1.0×. 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 Israel bigger than São Tomé and Principe?
Yes. Israel is 20.7 times larger than São Tomé and Principe. Israel covers 20,770 km² and São Tomé and Principe covers 1,001 km².
How many times does São Tomé and Principe fit into Israel?
About 21 times: Israel has 20.7× the area of São Tomé and Principe.
Why do Israel and São Tomé and Principe look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Israel is drawn about 1.37× its true area there and São Tomé and Principe about 1.0×. 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, Israel or São Tomé and Principe?
Israel: 10,122,800 people against 240,254. Density: Israel 487 per km², São Tomé and Principe 240 per km².