DR Congo vs Papua New Guinea

DR Congo is 5.07 times larger than Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea would fit into DR Congo about 5.1 times.

DR CongoPapua New GuineaDR Congo moved onto Papua New Guinea · Equal-area projection
5.07×
DR Congo is 5.07× the area of Papua New Guinea.
DR CongoPapua New Guinea
Area2,344,858 km²462,840 km²
Population112,832,47310,762,817
Density48 / km²23 / km²
CapitalKinshasaPort Moresby
RegionMiddle AfricaMelanesia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours91

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. DR Congo sits at about 3°S and is stretched to 1.0× its true area; Papua New Guinea at 6° S is stretched to 1.01×. 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 DR Congo bigger than Papua New Guinea?
Yes. DR Congo is 5.07 times larger than Papua New Guinea. DR Congo covers 2,344,858 km² and Papua New Guinea covers 462,840 km².
How many times does Papua New Guinea fit into DR Congo?
About 5.1 times: DR Congo has 5.07× the area of Papua New Guinea.
Why do DR Congo and Papua New Guinea look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. DR Congo is drawn about 1.0× its true area there and Papua New Guinea about 1.01×. 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, DR Congo or Papua New Guinea?
DR Congo: 112,832,473 people against 10,762,817. Density: DR Congo 48 per km², Papua New Guinea 23 per km².