Namibia vs Zambia

Namibia is 10% larger than Zambia.

NamibiaZambiaNamibia moved onto Zambia · Equal-area projection
1.1×
Namibia is 1.1× the area of Zambia.
NamibiaZambia
Area825,615 km²752,618 km²
Population3,092,81621,913,874
Density3.7 / km²29 / km²
CapitalWindhoekLusaka
RegionSouthern AfricaEastern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours47

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Namibia sits at about 22°S and is stretched to 1.16× its true area; Zambia at 13° S is stretched to 1.06×. 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 Namibia bigger than Zambia?
Yes. Namibia is 10% larger than Zambia. Namibia covers 825,615 km² and Zambia covers 752,618 km².
How many times does Zambia fit into Namibia?
About 1.1 times: Namibia has 1.1× the area of Zambia.
Why do Namibia and Zambia look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Namibia is drawn about 1.16× its true area there and Zambia about 1.06×. 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, Namibia or Zambia?
Zambia: 21,913,874 people against 3,092,816. Density: Namibia 3.7 per km², Zambia 29 per km².