Nicaragua vs Syria

Syria is 54% larger than Nicaragua. Nicaragua would fit into Syria about 1.5 times.

NicaraguaSyriaNicaragua moved onto Syria · Equal-area projection
0.65×
Nicaragua is 0.65× the area of Syria. Put the other way, Syria is 1.54× the size of Nicaragua.
NicaraguaSyria
Area120,340 km²185,180 km²
Population7,007,50225,620,427
Density58 / km²138 / km²
CapitalManaguaDamascus
RegionCentral AmericaWestern Asia
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; Syria at 35° N is stretched to 1.49×. 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 Nicaragua bigger than Syria?
No. Nicaragua is 35% smaller than Syria. Nicaragua covers 120,340 km² and Syria covers 185,180 km².
How many times does Nicaragua fit into Syria?
About 1.5 times: Syria has 1.54× the area of Nicaragua.
Why do Nicaragua and Syria 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 Syria about 1.49×. 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, Nicaragua or Syria?
Syria: 25,620,427 people against 7,007,502. Density: Nicaragua 58 per km², Syria 138 per km².