Malawi vs Nicaragua
Nicaragua and Malawi are almost exactly the same size.
MalawiNicaraguaMalawi moved onto Nicaragua · Equal-area projection
0.98×
Malawi is 0.98× the area of Nicaragua. Put the other way, Nicaragua is 1.02× the size of Malawi.
| Malawi | Nicaragua | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 118,484 km² | 120,340 km² |
| Population | 22,216,120 | 7,007,502 |
| Density | 188 / km² | 58 / km² |
| Capital | Lilongwe | Managua |
| Region | Eastern Africa | Central America |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 3 | 2 |
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; Nicaragua at 13° N is stretched to 1.05×. 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 Nicaragua?
- No. Malawi and Nicaragua are almost exactly the same size. Malawi covers 118,484 km² and Nicaragua covers 120,340 km².
- How many times does Malawi fit into Nicaragua?
- About 1.0 times: Nicaragua has 1.02× the area of Malawi.
- Why do Malawi and Nicaragua 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 Nicaragua about 1.05×. 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 Nicaragua?
- Malawi: 22,216,120 people against 7,007,502. Density: Malawi 188 per km², Nicaragua 58 per km².