Bulgaria vs North Korea

North Korea is 9% larger than Bulgaria.

BulgariaNorth KoreaBulgaria moved onto North Korea · Equal-area projection
0.92×
Bulgaria is 0.92× the area of North Korea. Put the other way, North Korea is 1.09× the size of Bulgaria.
BulgariaNorth Korea
Area110,994 km²120,540 km²
Population6,433,30226,571,036
Density58 / km²220 / km²
CapitalSofiaPyongyang
RegionEastern EuropeEastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours53

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Bulgaria sits at about 43°N and is stretched to 1.86× its true area; North Korea at 40° N is stretched to 1.71×. 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 Bulgaria bigger than North Korea?
No. Bulgaria is 8% smaller than North Korea. Bulgaria covers 110,994 km² and North Korea covers 120,540 km².
How many times does Bulgaria fit into North Korea?
About 1.1 times: North Korea has 1.09× the area of Bulgaria.
Why do Bulgaria and North Korea look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Bulgaria is drawn about 1.86× its true area there and North Korea about 1.71×. 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, Bulgaria or North Korea?
North Korea: 26,571,036 people against 6,433,302. Density: Bulgaria 58 per km², North Korea 220 per km².