Nigeria vs Panama

Nigeria is 12.5 times larger than Panama. Panama would fit into Nigeria about 12 times.

NigeriaPanamaNigeria moved onto Panama · Equal-area projection
12.5×
Nigeria is 12.5× the area of Panama.
NigeriaPanama
Area923,768 km²74,177 km²
Population237,527,7824,571,189
Density257 / km²62 / km²
CapitalAbujaPanama City
RegionWestern AfricaCentral 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. Nigeria sits at about 10°N and is stretched to 1.03× its true area; Panama at 9° 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 Nigeria bigger than Panama?
Yes. Nigeria is 12.5 times larger than Panama. Nigeria covers 923,768 km² and Panama covers 74,177 km².
How many times does Panama fit into Nigeria?
About 12 times: Nigeria has 12.5× the area of Panama.
Why do Nigeria and Panama look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Nigeria is drawn about 1.03× its true area there and Panama 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, Nigeria or Panama?
Nigeria: 237,527,782 people against 4,571,189. Density: Nigeria 257 per km², Panama 62 per km².