Iraq vs Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is 6% larger than Iraq.

IraqPapua New GuineaIraq moved onto Papua New Guinea · Equal-area projection
0.94×
Iraq is 0.94× the area of Papua New Guinea. Put the other way, Papua New Guinea is 1.06× the size of Iraq.
IraqPapua New Guinea
Area437,072 km²462,840 km²
Population47,020,77410,762,817
Density108 / km²23 / km²
CapitalBaghdadPort Moresby
RegionWestern AsiaMelanesia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours61

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Iraq sits at about 33°N and is stretched to 1.42× 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 Iraq bigger than Papua New Guinea?
No. Iraq is 6% smaller than Papua New Guinea. Iraq covers 437,072 km² and Papua New Guinea covers 462,840 km².
How many times does Iraq fit into Papua New Guinea?
About 1.1 times: Papua New Guinea has 1.06× the area of Iraq.
Why do Iraq and Papua New Guinea look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Iraq is drawn about 1.42× 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, Iraq or Papua New Guinea?
Iraq: 47,020,774 people against 10,762,817. Density: Iraq 108 per km², Papua New Guinea 23 per km².