Nicaragua vs Romania

Romania is 98% larger than Nicaragua. Nicaragua would fit into Romania about 2.0 times.

NicaraguaRomaniaNicaragua moved onto Romania · Equal-area projection
0.5×
Nicaragua is 0.5× the area of Romania. Put the other way, Romania is 1.98× the size of Nicaragua.
NicaraguaRomania
Area120,340 km²238,397 km²
Population7,007,50219,020,271
Density58 / km²80 / km²
CapitalManaguaBucharest
RegionCentral AmericaEastern Europe
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours25

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Nicaragua sits at about 13°N and is stretched to 1.05× its true area; Romania at 46° N is stretched to 2.06×. That difference is why Romania looks so much bigger than it is next to Nicaragua. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.

Questions about this pair

Is Nicaragua bigger than Romania?
No. Nicaragua is 50% smaller than Romania. Nicaragua covers 120,340 km² and Romania covers 238,397 km².
How many times does Nicaragua fit into Romania?
About 2.0 times: Romania has 1.98× the area of Nicaragua.
Why do Nicaragua and Romania look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Nicaragua is drawn about 1.05× its true area there and Romania about 2.06×. That is why Romania looks so much bigger than it really is next to Nicaragua. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Nicaragua or Romania?
Romania: 19,020,271 people against 7,007,502. Density: Nicaragua 58 per km², Romania 80 per km².