Malawi vs Malaysia

Malaysia is 2.79 times larger than Malawi. Malawi would fit into Malaysia about 2.8 times.

MalawiMalaysiaMalawi moved onto Malaysia · Equal-area projection
0.36×
Malawi is 0.36× the area of Malaysia. Put the other way, Malaysia is 2.79× the size of Malawi.
MalawiMalaysia
Area118,484 km²330,803 km²
Population22,216,12035,977,838
Density188 / km²109 / km²
CapitalLilongweKuala Lumpur
RegionEastern AfricaSouth-Eastern Asia
CoastlineLandlockedHas a coast
Neighbours33

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Malawi sits at about 13°S and is stretched to 1.06× 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 Malawi bigger than Malaysia?
No. Malawi is 2.79 times smaller than Malaysia. Malawi covers 118,484 km² and Malaysia covers 330,803 km².
How many times does Malawi fit into Malaysia?
About 2.8 times: Malaysia has 2.79× the area of Malawi.
Why do Malawi and Malaysia look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Malawi is drawn about 1.06× 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, Malawi or Malaysia?
Malaysia: 35,977,838 people against 22,216,120. Density: Malawi 188 per km², Malaysia 109 per km².