Iceland vs North Korea
North Korea is 17% larger than Iceland.
IcelandNorth KoreaIceland moved onto North Korea · Equal-area projection
0.85×
Iceland is 0.85× the area of North Korea. Put the other way, North Korea is 1.17× the size of Iceland.
| Iceland | North Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 103,004 km² | 120,540 km² |
| Population | 392,404 | 26,571,036 |
| Density | 3.8 / km² | 220 / km² |
| Capital | Reykjavik | Pyongyang |
| Region | Northern Europe | Eastern Asia |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 0 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Iceland sits at about 65°N and is stretched to 5.6× its true area; North Korea at 40° N is stretched to 1.71×. That difference is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it is next to North Korea. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Iceland bigger than North Korea?
- No. Iceland is 15% smaller than North Korea. Iceland covers 103,004 km² and North Korea covers 120,540 km².
- How many times does Iceland fit into North Korea?
- About 1.2 times: North Korea has 1.17× the area of Iceland.
- Why do Iceland and North Korea look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Iceland is drawn about 5.6× its true area there and North Korea about 1.71×. That is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it really is next to North Korea. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Iceland or North Korea?
- North Korea: 26,571,036 people against 392,404. Density: Iceland 3.8 per km², North Korea 220 per km².