Mauritania vs Namibia

Mauritania is 25% larger than Namibia.

MauritaniaNamibiaMauritania moved onto Namibia · Equal-area projection
1.25×
Mauritania is 1.25× the area of Namibia.
MauritaniaNamibia
Area1,030,700 km²825,615 km²
Population5,315,0653,092,816
Density5.2 / km²3.7 / km²
CapitalNouakchottWindhoek
RegionWestern AfricaSouthern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours44

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Mauritania sits at about 20°N and is stretched to 1.14× its true area; Namibia at 22° S is stretched to 1.16×. 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 Mauritania bigger than Namibia?
Yes. Mauritania is 25% larger than Namibia. Mauritania covers 1,030,700 km² and Namibia covers 825,615 km².
How many times does Namibia fit into Mauritania?
About 1.2 times: Mauritania has 1.25× the area of Namibia.
Why do Mauritania and Namibia look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Mauritania is drawn about 1.14× its true area there and Namibia about 1.16×. 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, Mauritania or Namibia?
Mauritania: 5,315,065 people against 3,092,816. Density: Mauritania 5.2 per km², Namibia 3.7 per km².