Laos vs Malaysia
Malaysia is 40% larger than Laos.
LaosMalaysiaLaos moved onto Malaysia · Equal-area projection
0.72×
Laos is 0.72× the area of Malaysia. Put the other way, Malaysia is 1.4× the size of Laos.
| Laos | Malaysia | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 236,800 km² | 330,803 km² |
| Population | 7,873,046 | 35,977,838 |
| Density | 33 / km² | 109 / km² |
| Capital | Vientiane | Kuala Lumpur |
| Region | South-Eastern Asia | South-Eastern Asia |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 5 | 3 |
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; Malaysia at 4° 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 Laos bigger than Malaysia?
- No. Laos is 28% smaller than Malaysia. Laos covers 236,800 km² and Malaysia covers 330,803 km².
- How many times does Laos fit into Malaysia?
- About 1.4 times: Malaysia has 1.4× the area of Laos.
- Why do Laos and Malaysia 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 Malaysia 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, Laos or Malaysia?
- Malaysia: 35,977,838 people against 7,873,046. Density: Laos 33 per km², Malaysia 109 per km².