[Idiom] More than twice as many / more than four times as many

[Kumar Nadimuthu]

"There are many reasons why India in particular make us in the West aware of how much remains to be done in the developing countries and of how many difficulties have still to be overcome before anyone speaks of triumph. One is obviously the size of the problem India faces. There are countries which are poorer than India,there are countries which have made far less economic progress,there are countries which don't have even the rudiments of a modern state,but there is none which has so many poor people. India's nearest rival in this respect is China,but the World Development Report (1990) shows that there are more than twice as many poor people in India than in China,and more than four times as many extremely poor people". - No full stops in India,Mark Tully.

What does mean "as many" in the undelined words?

 

[Zkiller]

Edit: Not a teacher
I think it means "the number of"

 

[Rover_KE]

Your answer is correct, Zkiller, but please read this extract from the forum's Posting Guidelines:

You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly at the top of your post.

 

[Zkiller]

My second mess up today, sorry. :-(