Sierra Leone vs Zambia

Zambia is 10.5 times larger than Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone would fit into Zambia about 10 times.

Sierra LeoneZambiaSierra Leone moved onto Zambia · Equal-area projection
0.1×
Sierra Leone is 0.1× the area of Zambia. Put the other way, Zambia is 10.5× the size of Sierra Leone.
Sierra LeoneZambia
Area71,740 km²752,618 km²
Population8,819,79421,913,874
Density123 / km²29 / km²
CapitalFreetownLusaka
RegionWestern AfricaEastern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours27

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Sierra Leone sits at about 9°N and is stretched to 1.02× 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 Sierra Leone bigger than Zambia?
No. Sierra Leone is 10.5 times smaller than Zambia. Sierra Leone covers 71,740 km² and Zambia covers 752,618 km².
How many times does Sierra Leone fit into Zambia?
About 10 times: Zambia has 10.5× the area of Sierra Leone.
Why do Sierra Leone and Zambia look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Sierra Leone is drawn about 1.02× 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, Sierra Leone or Zambia?
Zambia: 21,913,874 people against 8,819,794. Density: Sierra Leone 123 per km², Zambia 29 per km².