Laos vs Madagascar
Madagascar is 2.48 times larger than Laos. Laos would fit into Madagascar about 2.5 times.
LaosMadagascarLaos moved onto Madagascar · Equal-area projection
0.4×
Laos is 0.4× the area of Madagascar. Put the other way, Madagascar is 2.48× the size of Laos.
| Laos | Madagascar | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 236,800 km² | 587,295 km² |
| Population | 7,873,046 | 32,740,678 |
| Density | 33 / km² | 56 / km² |
| Capital | Vientiane | Antananarivo |
| Region | South-Eastern Asia | Eastern Africa |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 5 | 0 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Laos sits at about 18°N and is stretched to 1.11× its true area; Madagascar at 19° S is stretched to 1.12×. 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 Laos bigger than Madagascar?
- No. Laos is 2.48 times smaller than Madagascar. Laos covers 236,800 km² and Madagascar covers 587,295 km².
- How many times does Laos fit into Madagascar?
- About 2.5 times: Madagascar has 2.48× the area of Laos.
- Why do Laos and Madagascar look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Laos is drawn about 1.11× its true area there and Madagascar about 1.12×. 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, Laos or Madagascar?
- Madagascar: 32,740,678 people against 7,873,046. Density: Laos 33 per km², Madagascar 56 per km².