Finland vs Japan

Japan is 12% larger than Finland.

FinlandJapanFinland moved onto Japan · Equal-area projection
0.9×
Finland is 0.9× the area of Japan. Put the other way, Japan is 1.12× the size of Finland.
FinlandJapan
Area338,478 km²377,972 km²
Population5,646,436123,366,734
Density17 / km²326 / km²
CapitalHelsinkiTokyo
RegionNorthern EuropeEastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours30

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Finland sits at about 64°N and is stretched to 5.3× its true area; Japan at 37° N is stretched to 1.59×. That difference is why Finland looks so much bigger than it is next to Japan. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.

Questions about this pair

Is Finland bigger than Japan?
No. Finland is 10% smaller than Japan. Finland covers 338,478 km² and Japan covers 377,972 km².
How many times does Finland fit into Japan?
About 1.1 times: Japan has 1.12× the area of Finland.
Why do Finland and Japan look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Finland is drawn about 5.3× its true area there and Japan about 1.59×. That is why Finland looks so much bigger than it really is next to Japan. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Finland or Japan?
Japan: 123,366,734 people against 5,646,436. Density: Finland 17 per km², Japan 326 per km².