Maldives vs Vanuatu

Vanuatu is 40.9 times larger than Maldives. Maldives would fit into Vanuatu about 41 times.

MaldivesVanuatuMaldives moved onto Vanuatu · Equal-area projection
0.02×
Maldives is 0.02× the area of Vanuatu. Put the other way, Vanuatu is 40.9× the size of Maldives.
MaldivesVanuatu
Area298 km²12,190 km²
Population529,676335,169
Density1,777 / km²27 / km²
CapitalMalePort-Vila
RegionSouthern AsiaMelanesia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours00

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Maldives sits at about 4°N and is stretched to 1.0× its true area; Vanuatu at 16° S is stretched to 1.08×. 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 Maldives bigger than Vanuatu?
No. Maldives is 40.9 times smaller than Vanuatu. Maldives covers 298 km² and Vanuatu covers 12,190 km².
How many times does Maldives fit into Vanuatu?
About 41 times: Vanuatu has 40.9× the area of Maldives.
Why do Maldives and Vanuatu look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Maldives is drawn about 1.0× its true area there and Vanuatu about 1.08×. 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, Maldives or Vanuatu?
Maldives: 529,676 people against 335,169. Density: Maldives 1,777 per km², Vanuatu 27 per km².