Panama vs Puerto Rico

Panama is 8.15 times larger than Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico would fit into Panama about 8.1 times.

PanamaPuerto RicoPanama moved onto Puerto Rico · Equal-area projection
8.15×
Panama is 8.15× the area of Puerto Rico.
PanamaPuerto Rico
Area74,177 km²9,104 km²
Population4,571,1893,184,835
Density62 / km²350 / km²
CapitalPanama CitySan Juan
RegionCentral AmericaCaribbean
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours20

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Panama sits at about 9°N and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; Puerto Rico at 18° N is stretched to 1.11×. 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 Panama bigger than Puerto Rico?
Yes. Panama is 8.15 times larger than Puerto Rico. Panama covers 74,177 km² and Puerto Rico covers 9,104 km².
How many times does Puerto Rico fit into Panama?
About 8.1 times: Panama has 8.15× the area of Puerto Rico.
Why do Panama and Puerto Rico look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Panama is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and Puerto Rico about 1.11×. 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, Panama or Puerto Rico?
Panama: 4,571,189 people against 3,184,835. Density: Panama 62 per km², Puerto Rico 350 per km².