Malaysia vs Nicaragua

Malaysia is 2.75 times larger than Nicaragua. Nicaragua would fit into Malaysia about 2.7 times.

MalaysiaNicaraguaMalaysia moved onto Nicaragua · Equal-area projection
2.75×
Malaysia is 2.75× the area of Nicaragua.
MalaysiaNicaragua
Area330,803 km²120,340 km²
Population35,977,8387,007,502
Density109 / km²58 / km²
CapitalKuala LumpurManagua
RegionSouth-Eastern AsiaCentral America
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours32

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Malaysia sits at about 4°N and is stretched to 1.0× 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 Malaysia bigger than Nicaragua?
Yes. Malaysia is 2.75 times larger than Nicaragua. Malaysia covers 330,803 km² and Nicaragua covers 120,340 km².
How many times does Nicaragua fit into Malaysia?
About 2.7 times: Malaysia has 2.75× the area of Nicaragua.
Why do Malaysia and Nicaragua look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Malaysia is drawn about 1.0× 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, Malaysia or Nicaragua?
Malaysia: 35,977,838 people against 7,007,502. Density: Malaysia 109 per km², Nicaragua 58 per km².