Iceland vs Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is 4.49 times larger than Iceland. Iceland would fit into Papua New Guinea about 4.5 times.

IcelandPapua New GuineaIceland moved onto Papua New Guinea · Equal-area projection
0.22×
Iceland is 0.22× the area of Papua New Guinea. Put the other way, Papua New Guinea is 4.49× the size of Iceland.
IcelandPapua New Guinea
Area103,004 km²462,840 km²
Population392,40410,762,817
Density3.8 / km²23 / km²
CapitalReykjavikPort Moresby
RegionNorthern EuropeMelanesia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours01

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; Papua New Guinea at 6° S is stretched to 1.01×. That difference is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it is next to Papua New Guinea. 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 Papua New Guinea?
No. Iceland is 4.49 times smaller than Papua New Guinea. Iceland covers 103,004 km² and Papua New Guinea covers 462,840 km².
How many times does Iceland fit into Papua New Guinea?
About 4.5 times: Papua New Guinea has 4.49× the area of Iceland.
Why do Iceland and Papua New Guinea 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 Papua New Guinea about 1.01×. That is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it really is next to Papua New Guinea. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Iceland or Papua New Guinea?
Papua New Guinea: 10,762,817 people against 392,404. Density: Iceland 3.8 per km², Papua New Guinea 23 per km².