French Polynesia vs New Caledonia
New Caledonia is 4.46 times larger than French Polynesia. French Polynesia would fit into New Caledonia about 4.5 times.
French PolynesiaNew CaledoniaFrench Polynesia moved onto New Caledonia · Equal-area projection
0.22×
French Polynesia is 0.22× the area of New Caledonia. Put the other way, New Caledonia is 4.46× the size of French Polynesia.
| French Polynesia | New Caledonia | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 4,167 km² | 18,576 km² |
| Population | 282,465 | 295,333 |
| Density | 68 / km² | 16 / km² |
| Capital | Papeete | Noum'ea |
| Region | Polynesia | Melanesia |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 0 | 0 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. French Polynesia sits at about 15°S and is stretched to 1.07× 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 French Polynesia bigger than New Caledonia?
- No. French Polynesia is 4.46 times smaller than New Caledonia. French Polynesia covers 4,167 km² and New Caledonia covers 18,576 km².
- How many times does French Polynesia fit into New Caledonia?
- About 4.5 times: New Caledonia has 4.46× the area of French Polynesia.
- Why do French Polynesia and New Caledonia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. French Polynesia is drawn about 1.07× 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, French Polynesia or New Caledonia?
- New Caledonia: 295,333 people against 282,465. Density: French Polynesia 68 per km², New Caledonia 16 per km².