Japan vs North Korea

Japan is 3.14 times larger than North Korea. North Korea would fit into Japan about 3.1 times.

JapanNorth KoreaJapan moved onto North Korea · Equal-area projection
3.14×
Japan is 3.14× the area of North Korea.
JapanNorth Korea
Area377,972 km²120,540 km²
Population123,366,73426,571,036
Density326 / km²220 / km²
CapitalTokyoPyongyang
RegionEastern AsiaEastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours03

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Japan sits at about 37°N and is stretched to 1.59× 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 Japan bigger than North Korea?
Yes. Japan is 3.14 times larger than North Korea. Japan covers 377,972 km² and North Korea covers 120,540 km².
How many times does North Korea fit into Japan?
About 3.1 times: Japan has 3.14× the area of North Korea.
Why do Japan and North Korea look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Japan is drawn about 1.59× 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, Japan or North Korea?
Japan: 123,366,734 people against 26,571,036. Density: Japan 326 per km², North Korea 220 per km².