Malaysia vs Romania

Malaysia is 39% larger than Romania.

MalaysiaRomaniaMalaysia moved onto Romania · Equal-area projection
1.39×
Malaysia is 1.39× the area of Romania.
MalaysiaRomania
Area330,803 km²238,397 km²
Population35,977,83819,020,271
Density109 / km²80 / km²
CapitalKuala LumpurBucharest
RegionSouth-Eastern AsiaEastern Europe
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours35

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; Romania at 46° N is stretched to 2.06×. That difference is why Romania looks so much bigger than it is next to Malaysia. 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 Romania?
Yes. Malaysia is 39% larger than Romania. Malaysia covers 330,803 km² and Romania covers 238,397 km².
How many times does Romania fit into Malaysia?
About 1.4 times: Malaysia has 1.39× the area of Romania.
Why do Malaysia and Romania 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 Romania about 2.06×. That is why Romania looks so much bigger than it really is next to Malaysia. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Malaysia or Romania?
Malaysia: 35,977,838 people against 19,020,271. Density: Malaysia 109 per km², Romania 80 per km².