Malaysia vs Spain

Spain is 53% larger than Malaysia. Malaysia would fit into Spain about 1.5 times.

MalaysiaSpainMalaysia moved onto Spain · Equal-area projection
0.65×
Malaysia is 0.65× the area of Spain. Put the other way, Spain is 1.53× the size of Malaysia.
MalaysiaSpain
Area330,803 km²505,990 km²
Population35,977,83849,355,143
Density109 / km²98 / km²
CapitalKuala LumpurMadrid
RegionSouth-Eastern AsiaSouthern Europe
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours33

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; Spain at 40° N is stretched to 1.71×. That difference is why Spain 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 Spain?
No. Malaysia is 35% smaller than Spain. Malaysia covers 330,803 km² and Spain covers 505,990 km².
How many times does Malaysia fit into Spain?
About 1.5 times: Spain has 1.53× the area of Malaysia.
Why do Malaysia and Spain 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 Spain about 1.71×. That is why Spain 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 Spain?
Spain: 49,355,143 people against 35,977,838. Density: Malaysia 109 per km², Spain 98 per km².