Mauritania vs South Sudan

Mauritania is 60% larger than South Sudan. South Sudan would fit into Mauritania about 1.6 times.

MauritaniaSouth SudanMauritania moved onto South Sudan · Equal-area projection
1.6×
Mauritania is 1.6× the area of South Sudan.
MauritaniaSouth Sudan
Area1,030,700 km²644,329 km²
Population5,315,06512,188,788
Density5.2 / km²19 / km²
CapitalNouakchottJuba
RegionWestern AfricaEastern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours46

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; South Sudan at 7° N is stretched to 1.02×. 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 South Sudan?
Yes. Mauritania is 60% larger than South Sudan. Mauritania covers 1,030,700 km² and South Sudan covers 644,329 km².
How many times does South Sudan fit into Mauritania?
About 1.6 times: Mauritania has 1.6× the area of South Sudan.
Why do Mauritania and South Sudan 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 South Sudan about 1.02×. 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 South Sudan?
South Sudan: 12,188,788 people against 5,315,065. Density: Mauritania 5.2 per km², South Sudan 19 per km².