Mauritania vs United States

United States is 9.53 times larger than Mauritania. Mauritania would fit into United States about 9.5 times.

MauritaniaUnited StatesMauritania moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
0.1×
Mauritania is 0.1× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 9.53× the size of Mauritania.
MauritaniaUnited States
Area1,030,700 km²9,826,675 km²
Population5,315,065341,784,857
Density5.2 / km²35 / km²
CapitalNouakchottWashington D.C.
RegionWestern AfricaNorthern America
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours42

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; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. That difference is why United States looks so much bigger than it is next to Mauritania. 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 United States?
No. Mauritania is 9.53 times smaller than United States. Mauritania covers 1,030,700 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
How many times does Mauritania fit into United States?
About 9.5 times: United States has 9.53× the area of Mauritania.
Why do Mauritania and United States 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 United States about 1.98×. That is why United States looks so much bigger than it really is next to Mauritania. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Mauritania or United States?
United States: 341,784,857 people against 5,315,065. Density: Mauritania 5.2 per km², United States 35 per km².