Cameroon vs New Caledonia

Cameroon is 25.6 times larger than New Caledonia. New Caledonia would fit into Cameroon about 26 times.

CameroonNew CaledoniaCameroon moved onto New Caledonia · Equal-area projection
25.6×
Cameroon is 25.6× the area of New Caledonia.
CameroonNew Caledonia
Area475,442 km²18,576 km²
Population29,879,337295,333
Density63 / km²16 / km²
CapitalYaoundeNoum'ea
RegionMiddle AfricaMelanesia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours60

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Cameroon sits at about 6°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 Cameroon bigger than New Caledonia?
Yes. Cameroon is 25.6 times larger than New Caledonia. Cameroon covers 475,442 km² and New Caledonia covers 18,576 km².
How many times does New Caledonia fit into Cameroon?
About 26 times: Cameroon has 25.6× the area of New Caledonia.
Why do Cameroon and New Caledonia look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Cameroon 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, Cameroon or New Caledonia?
Cameroon: 29,879,337 people against 295,333. Density: Cameroon 63 per km², New Caledonia 16 per km².