Madagascar vs Nigeria

Nigeria is 57% larger than Madagascar. Madagascar would fit into Nigeria about 1.6 times.

MadagascarNigeriaMadagascar moved onto Nigeria · Equal-area projection
0.64×
Madagascar is 0.64× the area of Nigeria. Put the other way, Nigeria is 1.57× the size of Madagascar.
MadagascarNigeria
Area587,295 km²923,768 km²
Population32,740,678237,527,782
Density56 / km²257 / km²
CapitalAntananarivoAbuja
RegionEastern AfricaWestern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours04

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Madagascar sits at about 19°S and is stretched to 1.12× its true area; Nigeria at 10° N is stretched to 1.03×. 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 Madagascar bigger than Nigeria?
No. Madagascar is 36% smaller than Nigeria. Madagascar covers 587,295 km² and Nigeria covers 923,768 km².
How many times does Madagascar fit into Nigeria?
About 1.6 times: Nigeria has 1.57× the area of Madagascar.
Why do Madagascar and Nigeria look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Madagascar is drawn about 1.12× its true area there and Nigeria about 1.03×. 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, Madagascar or Nigeria?
Nigeria: 237,527,782 people against 32,740,678. Density: Madagascar 56 per km², Nigeria 257 per km².