Israel vs New Caledonia

Israel is 12% larger than New Caledonia.

IsraelNew CaledoniaIsrael moved onto New Caledonia · Equal-area projection
1.12×
Israel is 1.12× the area of New Caledonia.
IsraelNew Caledonia
Area20,770 km²18,576 km²
Population10,122,800295,333
Density487 / km²16 / km²
CapitalJerusalemNoum'ea
RegionWestern AsiaMelanesia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours50

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Israel sits at about 31°N and is stretched to 1.37× 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 Israel bigger than New Caledonia?
Yes. Israel is 12% larger than New Caledonia. Israel covers 20,770 km² and New Caledonia covers 18,576 km².
How many times does New Caledonia fit into Israel?
About 1.1 times: Israel has 1.12× the area of New Caledonia.
Why do Israel and New Caledonia look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Israel is drawn about 1.37× 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, Israel or New Caledonia?
Israel: 10,122,800 people against 295,333. Density: Israel 487 per km², New Caledonia 16 per km².