Italy vs North Korea

Italy is 2.51 times larger than North Korea. North Korea would fit into Italy about 2.5 times.

ItalyNorth KoreaItaly moved onto North Korea · Equal-area projection
2.51×
Italy is 2.51× the area of North Korea.
ItalyNorth Korea
Area302,068 km²120,540 km²
Population58,915,65626,571,036
Density195 / km²220 / km²
CapitalRomePyongyang
RegionSouthern EuropeEastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours63

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Italy sits at about 43°N and is stretched to 1.85× its true area; North Korea at 40° N is stretched to 1.71×. 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 Italy bigger than North Korea?
Yes. Italy is 2.51 times larger than North Korea. Italy covers 302,068 km² and North Korea covers 120,540 km².
How many times does North Korea fit into Italy?
About 2.5 times: Italy has 2.51× the area of North Korea.
Why do Italy and North Korea look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Italy is drawn about 1.85× its true area there and North Korea about 1.71×. 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, Italy or North Korea?
Italy: 58,915,656 people against 26,571,036. Density: Italy 195 per km², North Korea 220 per km².