Brunei vs New Caledonia

New Caledonia is 3.22 times larger than Brunei. Brunei would fit into New Caledonia about 3.2 times.

BruneiNew CaledoniaBrunei moved onto New Caledonia · Equal-area projection
0.31×
Brunei is 0.31× the area of New Caledonia. Put the other way, New Caledonia is 3.22× the size of Brunei.
BruneiNew Caledonia
Area5,765 km²18,576 km²
Population466,330295,333
Density81 / km²16 / km²
CapitalBandar Seri BegawanNoum'ea
RegionSouth-Eastern AsiaMelanesia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours10

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Brunei sits at about 5°N and is stretched to 1.01× its true area; New Caledonia at 21° S is stretched to 1.15×. 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 Brunei bigger than New Caledonia?
No. Brunei is 3.22 times smaller than New Caledonia. Brunei covers 5,765 km² and New Caledonia covers 18,576 km².
How many times does Brunei fit into New Caledonia?
About 3.2 times: New Caledonia has 3.22× the area of Brunei.
Why do Brunei and New Caledonia look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Brunei is drawn about 1.01× its true area there and New Caledonia about 1.15×. 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, Brunei or New Caledonia?
Brunei: 466,330 people against 295,333. Density: Brunei 81 per km², New Caledonia 16 per km².