Madagascar vs Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is 3.83 times larger than Madagascar. Madagascar would fit into Saudi Arabia about 3.8 times.

MadagascarSaudi ArabiaMadagascar moved onto Saudi Arabia · Equal-area projection
0.26×
Madagascar is 0.26× the area of Saudi Arabia. Put the other way, Saudi Arabia is 3.83× the size of Madagascar.
MadagascarSaudi Arabia
Area587,295 km²2,250,000 km²
Population32,740,67836,973,555
Density56 / km²16 / km²
CapitalAntananarivoRiyadh
RegionEastern AfricaWestern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours07

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; Saudi Arabia at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. 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 Saudi Arabia?
No. Madagascar is 3.83 times smaller than Saudi Arabia. Madagascar covers 587,295 km² and Saudi Arabia covers 2,250,000 km².
How many times does Madagascar fit into Saudi Arabia?
About 3.8 times: Saudi Arabia has 3.83× the area of Madagascar.
Why do Madagascar and Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabia about 1.2×. 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 Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia: 36,973,555 people against 32,740,678. Density: Madagascar 56 per km², Saudi Arabia 16 per km².